abarcanvsabarcarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“abarcan” and “abarcar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,130
“abarcan” frequency rank
#19,606
“abarcar” frequency rank
37736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abarcan abarcar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de abarcar. Ceñir con los brazos o con la mano alguna cosa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abarcan and abarcar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
abarcan
7 ch
abarcar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abarcan ([aˈβ̞aɾkãn]) and abarcar ([aβ̞aɾˈkaɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “abarcan” becomes r in “abarcar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abarcan is recorded at frequency rank #18,130, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞aɾkãn]. abarcar is at rank #19,606, tagged as averb, pronounced [aβ̞aɾˈkaɾ].

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 37736, this pair ranks #173,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abarcan vs abarcar

Shared letters: abcr. Private to "abarcan": n. Private to "abarcar": -.

"abarcan" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "abarcar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abarcanaabrcan · abacran · abaracn · abarcann · abarccan · abarcna · abarrcan · abbarcan
  • abarcaraabrcar · abacrar · abaracr · abarcarr · abarccar · abarcra · abarrcar · abbarcar

Frequency comparison

abarcan#18,130
abarcar#19,606

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abarcan" and "abarcar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈβ̞aɾkãn] versus [aβ̞aɾˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abarcan" or "abarcar"?
"abarcan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,130 in our Spanish list, against #19,606 for "abarcar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abarcan vs abarcar

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 “abarcan” 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