Which to use
“captan” and “catar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,093
- “captan” frequency rank
- #33,482
- “catar” frequency rank
- 62575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | captan | catar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de captar. | Probar algo con el sentido del gusto, especialmente los alimentos. |
Where the eye mixes captan and catar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: captan vs catar
A purely visual mix-up. captan ([ˈkapt̪ãn]) and catar ([kaˈt̪aɾ]) 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 62575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
captan is recorded at frequency rank #29,093, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkapt̪ãn]. catar is at rank #33,482, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaˈt̪aɾ].
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 62575, this pair ranks #51,551 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of captan vs catar
Shared letters: act. Private to "captan": np. Private to "catar": r.
"captan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "catar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "captan" and "catar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "captan" or "catar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "captan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "catar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,551 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "captan" and "catar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "catar vs catre". 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 #51,551 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.