hastavshésitaWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hasta and hésita apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
hasta
6 ch
hésita

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": .

"hasta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "hésita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hastaahsta · hasat · hassta · hastta · hatsa · hhasta · hsata

Frequency comparison

hasta#46,206
hésita#45,662

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hasta" and "hésita" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈhæs.tə\ versus ^((h muet))\e.zi.ta\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hasta" or "hésita"?
"hésita" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,662 in our French list, against #46,206 for "hasta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hasta vs hésita

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hasta” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list