controlarvscontrolenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,202
“controlar” frequency rank
#33,042
“controlen” frequency rank
35244
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature controlar controlen
Definition Tener el control sobre algo o alguien, ejercer el dominio sobre algo o alguien. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de controlar o de controlarse.

Where the eye mixes controlar and controlen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
controlar
9 ch
controlen

Visual trap between controlar and controlen

A purely visual mix-up. controlar ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ]) and controlen ([kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolẽn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35244, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

controlar is recorded at frequency rank #2,202, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ]. 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 35244, this pair ranks #187,150 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of controlar vs controlen

Shared letters: clnort. Private to "controlar": a. Private to "controlen": e.

"controlar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "controlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • controlarccontrolar · cnotrolar · conntrolar · conrtolar · contorlar · contrloar · controalr · controlarr
  • controlenccontrolen · cnotrolen · conntrolen · conrtolen · contorlen · contrloen · controeln · controlenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "controlar" and "controlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ] versus [kõn̪ˈt̪ɾolẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "controlar" or "controlen"?
"controlar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,202 in our Spanish list, against #33,042 for "controlen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "controlar" 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 #187,150 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "controlar" 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 #187,150 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