Which to use
“contaban” and “cortaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,119
- “contaban” frequency rank
- #29,567
- “cortaba” frequency rank
- 41686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contaban | cortaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cortar o de cortarse. |
Where the eye mixes contaban and cortaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contaban with cortaba
A purely visual mix-up. contaban ([kõn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and cortaba ([koɾˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 41686, 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]. cortaba is at rank #29,567, tagged as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aβ̞a].
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 41686, this pair ranks #152,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contaban vs cortaba
Shared letters: abcot. Private to "contaban": n. Private to "cortaba": r.
"contaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "cortaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contaban" and "cortaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "contaban" vs "cortaba" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "cortaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contaban" and "cortaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortaba vs cortarla". 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 #152,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.