Which to use
“comían” and “cortan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,156
- “comían” frequency rank
- #11,941
- “cortan” frequency rank
- 39097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | comían | cortan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de comer o de comerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cortar o de cortarse. |
Where the eye mixes comían and cortan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses comían with cortan
A purely visual mix-up. comían ([koˈmiãn]) and cortan ([ˈkoɾt̪ãn]) 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 39097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
comían is recorded at frequency rank #27,156, classified as averb, pronounced [koˈmiãn]. cortan is at rank #11,941, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkoɾt̪ãn].
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 39097, this pair ranks #166,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of comían vs cortan
Shared letters: acno. Private to "comían": mí. Private to "cortan": rt.
"comían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "cortan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cortan ← ccortan · coratn · corrtan · cortann · cortna · corttan · cotran · crotan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "comían" and "cortan" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "comían" or "cortan" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "comían" and "cortan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "comían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cortan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "comían" and "cortan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs comían". 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 #166,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.