comentabavscontabaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,552
“comentaba” frequency rank
#4,872
“contaba” frequency rank
19424
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature comentaba contaba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de comentar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar.

Where the eye mixes comentaba and contaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
comentaba
7 ch
contaba

Why the eye confuses comentaba with contaba

A purely visual mix-up. comentaba ([komẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and contaba ([kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19424, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

comentaba is recorded at frequency rank #14,552, classified as averb, pronounced [komẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. contaba is at rank #4,872, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a].

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 19424, this pair ranks #263,813 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of comentaba vs contaba

Shared letters: abcnot. Private to "comentaba": em. Private to "contaba": -.

"comentaba" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV  ·  "contaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • comentabaccomentaba · cmoentaba · coemntaba · comenatba · comenntaba · comentaab · comentabba · comentava
  • contabaccontaba · cnotaba · conatba · conntaba · contaab · contabba · contava · contbaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "comentaba" and "contaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([komẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "comentaba" or "contaba"?
"contaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,872 in our Spanish list, against #14,552 for "comentaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "comentaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "contaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #263,813 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "comentaba" and "contaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comentaba vs conectaba". 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 #263,813 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