controlabavscontrolarConfusable pair

Which to use

“controlaba” and “controlar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,196
“controlaba” frequency rank
#2,202
“controlar” frequency rank
27398
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature controlaba controlar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de controlar o de controlarse. Tener el control sobre algo o alguien, ejercer el dominio sobre algo o alguien.

Where the eye mixes controlaba and controlar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

10 ch
controlaba
9 ch
controlar

Look-alike desk: controlaba vs controlar

A purely visual mix-up. controlaba ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaβ̞a]) and controlar ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ]) 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 27398, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

controlaba is recorded at frequency rank #25,196, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaβ̞a]. controlar is at rank #2,202, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ].

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 27398, this pair ranks #227,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of controlaba vs controlar

Shared letters: aclnort. Private to "controlaba": b. Private to "controlar": -.

"controlaba" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV  ·  "controlar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • controlabaccontrolaba · cnotrolaba · conntrolaba · conrtolaba · contorlaba · contrloaba · controalba · controlaab
  • controlarccontrolar · cnotrolar · conntrolar · conrtolar · contorlar · contrloar · controalr · controlarr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "controlaba" and "controlar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaβ̞a] versus [kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "controlaba" vs "controlar" - which ranks higher?
"controlar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,202 in our Spanish list, against #25,196 for "controlaba". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "controlaba" and "controlar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "controlaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "controlar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "controlaba" and "controlar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "controlaba vs controlaban". 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 #227,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list