constabavscontabaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,299
“constaba” frequency rank
#4,872
“contaba” frequency rank
33171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes constaba and contaba

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

8 ch
constaba
7 ch
contaba

Why the eye confuses constaba with contaba

A purely visual mix-up. constaba ([kõnsˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

constaba is recorded at frequency rank #28,299, classified as averb, pronounced [kõnsˈt̪aβ̞a]. 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 33171, this pair ranks #198,226 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of constaba vs contaba

Shared letters: abcnot. Private to "constaba": s. Private to "contaba": -.

"constaba" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "contaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • constabacconstaba · cnostaba · connstaba · consatba · consstaba · constaab · constabba · constava
  • contabaccontaba · cnotaba · conatba · conntaba · contaab · contabba · contava · contbaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "constaba" and "contaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõnsˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "constaba" or "contaba"?
"contaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,872 in our Spanish list, against #28,299 for "constaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "constaba" and "contaba" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "constaba" 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 #198,226 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "constaba" and "contaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "constaba vs constará". 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 #198,226 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