Which to use
“contaba” and “contaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,872
- “contaba” frequency rank
- #12,119
- “contaban” frequency rank
- 16991
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contaba | contaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. |
Where the eye mixes contaba and contaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contaba with contaban
A purely visual mix-up. contaba ([kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “contaba” sits inside “contaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contaba is recorded at frequency rank #4,872, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. 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 16991, this pair ranks #273,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contaba vs contaban
Shared letters: abcnot. Private to "contaba": -. Private to "contaban": -.
"contaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "contaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contaba" and "contaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contaba" or "contaban" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "contaba" and "contaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contaba" 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 #273,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contaba" and "contaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confiaban vs contaban". 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 #273,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.