Which to use
“contaban” is a verb and “contable” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,119
- “contaban” frequency rank
- #13,004
- “contable” frequency rank
- 25123
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contaban | contable |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. | que puede ser contado. |
Where the eye mixes contaban and contable
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contaban with contable
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contaban is [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn] while contable is [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞le]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25123, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contaban is recorded at frequency rank #12,119, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. contable is at rank #13,004, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞le].
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 25123, this pair ranks #237,900 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contaban vs contable
Shared letters: abcnot. Private to "contaban": -. Private to "contable": el.
"contaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "contable" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contaban" for "contable" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contaban" vs "contable" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contable" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,900 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contaban" and "contable" 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 #237,900 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.