Which to use
“contaba” and “costaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,872
- “contaba” frequency rank
- #14,801
- “costaba” frequency rank
- 19673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contaba | costaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de costar. |
Where the eye mixes contaba and costaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between contaba and costaba
A purely visual mix-up. contaba ([kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and costaba ([kosˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 a single letter - n in “contaba” becomes s in “costaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19673, 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]. costaba is at rank #14,801, tagged as averb, pronounced [kosˈt̪aβ̞a].
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 19673, this pair ranks #262,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contaba vs costaba
Shared letters: abcot. Private to "contaba": n. Private to "costaba": s.
"contaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "costaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contaba" and "costaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "contaba" or "costaba" show up more?
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 "contaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "costaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contaba" and "costaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "constará vs costaba". 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 #262,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.