Which to use
“colgaban” and “contaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,296
- “colgaban” frequency rank
- #12,119
- “contaban” frequency rank
- 60415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | colgaban | contaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de colgar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. |
Where the eye mixes colgaban and contaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. colgaban and contaban follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between colgaban and contaban
A purely visual mix-up. colgaban ([kolˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) and contaban ([kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 60415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
colgaban is recorded at frequency rank #48,296, classified as averb, pronounced [kolˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]. contaban is at rank #12,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn].
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 60415, this pair ranks #59,025 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of colgaban vs contaban
Shared letters: abcno. Private to "colgaban": gl. Private to "contaban": t.
"colgaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "contaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "colgaban" and "contaban" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "colgaban" or "contaban" 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 "colgaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,025 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "colgaban" and "contaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "colgaban vs cortaban". 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 #59,025 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.