Which to use
“barba” and “basta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,465
- “barba” frequency rank
- #1,468
- “basta” frequency rank
- 6933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | barba | basta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agrupación de pelos que en los varones adultos crece en las partes inferior y media de la cara. | Hilván que dan en la ropa los sastres, modistas y costureras, para que salgan bien derechas las costuras. |
Where the eye mixes barba and basta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between barba and basta
A purely visual mix-up. barba ([ˈbaɾβ̞a]) and basta ([ˈbast̪a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
barba is recorded at frequency rank #5,465, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaɾβ̞a]. basta is at rank #1,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbast̪a].
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 6933, this pair ranks #309,415 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of barba vs basta
Shared letters: ab. Private to "barba": r. Private to "basta": st.
"barba" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "basta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "barba" for "basta" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "barba" or "basta" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "barba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "basta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,415 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "barba" and "basta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "barba vs barr". 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 #309,415 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.