administravsadministrabaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,381
“administra” frequency rank
#47,522
“administraba” frequency rank
60903
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature administra administraba
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de administrar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de administrar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set administra and administraba apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
administra
12 ch
administraba

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. administra ([að̞miˈnist̪ɾa]) and administraba ([að̞minisˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “administra” sits inside “administraba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

administra is recorded at frequency rank #13,381, classified as averb, pronounced [að̞miˈnist̪ɾa]. administraba is at rank #47,522, tagged as averb, pronounced [að̞minisˈt̪ɾaβ̞a].

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 60903, this pair ranks #57,272 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of administra vs administraba

Shared letters: adimnrst. Private to "administra": -. Private to "administraba": b.

"administra" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCCV  ·  "administraba" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • administraaddministra · adimnistra · admiinstra · adminisrta · adminisstra · administar · administtra · adminitsra
  • administrabaaddministraba · adimnistraba · admiinstraba · adminisrtaba · adminisstraba · administarba · administraab · administrabba

Frequency comparison

administra#13,381
administraba#47,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "administra" and "administraba" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([að̞miˈnist̪ɾa] versus [að̞minisˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "administra" or "administraba"?
"administra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,381 in our Spanish list, against #47,522 for "administraba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering administra vs administraba

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 “administra” 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