burlabavsburlanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,167
“burlaba” frequency rank
#18,466
“burlan” frequency rank
58633
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature burlaba burlan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de burlar o de burlarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de burlar o de burlarse.

Where the eye mixes burlaba and burlan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
burlaba
6 ch
burlan

Visual trap between burlaba and burlan

A purely visual mix-up. burlaba ([buɾˈlaβ̞a]) and burlan ([ˈbuɾlãn]) 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 58633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

burlaba is recorded at frequency rank #40,167, classified as averb, pronounced [buɾˈlaβ̞a]. burlan is at rank #18,466, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbuɾlãn].

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 58633, this pair ranks #65,745 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of burlaba vs burlan

Shared letters: ablru. Private to "burlaba": -. Private to "burlan": n.

"burlaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "burlan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • burlababburlaba · brulaba · bulraba · buralba · burlaab · burlabba · burlbaa · burllaba
  • burlanbburlan · brulan · bulran · buraln · burlann · burllan · burlna · burrlan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "burlaba" for "burlan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([buɾˈlaβ̞a] versus [ˈbuɾlãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "burlaba" or "burlan"?
"burlan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,466 in our Spanish list, against #40,167 for "burlaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "burlaba" and "burlan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "burlaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "burlan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #65,745 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "burlaba" and "burlan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "burlaba vs burlona". 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 #65,745 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list