estávsestimaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: está is a verb, estima is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“está” is a verb and “estima” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45
“está” frequency rank
#3,260
“estima” frequency rank
3305
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature está estima
Definition terceira pessoa do verbo estar no presente do indicativo; indica condição temporária afeição que sentimos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set está and estima apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
está
6 ch
estima

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: está is averb and estimaanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

está is recorded at frequency rank #45, classified as averb. estima is at rank #3,260, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈti.mɐ/.

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 3305, this pair ranks #71,856 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of está vs estima

Shared letters: est. Private to "está": á. Private to "estima": aim.

"está" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "estima" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estimaesitma · esstima · estiam · estimma · estmia · esttima · etsima · setima

Frequency comparison

está#45
estima#3,260

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "está" and "estima" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "está" is a verb and "estima" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "está" or "estima"?
"está" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45 in our Portuguese list, against #3,260 for "estima". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering está vs estima

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “está”; for a noun, it's “estima”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “está” 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