Which to use
“control” is a noun and “controlen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #509
- “control” frequency rank
- #33,042
- “controlen” frequency rank
- 33551
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | control | controlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | El acto o el poder de dominar, dirigir, regular, comandar, controlar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de controlar o de controlarse. |
Where the eye mixes control and controlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses control with controlen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: control is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾol] while controlen is [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolẽn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “control” sits inside “controlen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33551, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
control is recorded at frequency rank #509, classified as anoun, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾol]. controlen is at rank #33,042, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolẽn].
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 33551, this pair ranks #196,205 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of control vs controlen
Shared letters: clnort. Private to "control": -. Private to "controlen": e.
"control" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "controlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "control" for "controlen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "control" or "controlen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "control" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "controlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,205 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "control" and "controlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "controlen vs controlo". 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 #196,205 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.