Which to use
“hasta” and “hésita” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,206
- “hasta” frequency rank
- #45,662
- “hésita” frequency rank
- 91868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hasta | hésita |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de has to. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de hésiter. |
Where the eye mixes hasta and hésita
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. hasta runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against hésita's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: hasta vs hésita
A purely visual mix-up. hasta (\ˈhæs.tə\) and hésita (^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 91868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hasta is recorded at frequency rank #46,206, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈhæs.tə\. hésita is at rank #45,662, tagged as averb, pronounced ^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 91868, this pair ranks #3,464 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hasta vs hésita
Shared letters: ahst. Private to "hasta": -. Private to "hésita": ié.
"hasta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hésita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- hasta ← ahsta · hasat · hassta · hastta · hatsa · hhasta · hsata
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hasta" for "hésita" ever safe?
Frequency check: "hasta" vs "hésita" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hasta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hésita" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,464 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hasta" and "hésita" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hash vs hasta". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #3,464 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.