Which to use
“colgaban” and “cortaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,296
- “colgaban” frequency rank
- #44,666
- “cortaban” frequency rank
- 92962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | colgaban | cortaban |
|---|---|---|
| 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 cortar. |
Where the eye mixes colgaban and cortaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. colgaban and cortaban 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 cortaban
A purely visual mix-up. colgaban ([kolˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) and cortaban ([koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 92962, 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]. cortaban is at rank #44,666, tagged as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn].
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 92962, this pair ranks #1,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of colgaban vs cortaban
Shared letters: abcno. Private to "colgaban": gl. Private to "cortaban": rt.
"colgaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "cortaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "colgaban" and "cortaban" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "colgaban" vs "cortaban" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "colgaban" and "cortaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "colgaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cortaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "colgaban" and "cortaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortaban vs creaban". 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 #1,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.