cortabavscortadasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cortaba is a verb, cortadas is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cortaba” is a verb and “cortadas” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,567
“cortaba” frequency rank
#18,202
“cortadas” frequency rank
47769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cortaba cortadas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cortar o de cortarse. Forma del femenino plural de cortado, participio de cortar o de cortarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cortaba and cortadas apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
cortaba
8 ch
cortadas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cortaba and cortadas form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cortaba is recorded at frequency rank #29,567, classified as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aβ̞a]. cortadas is at rank #18,202, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [koɾˈt̪að̞as].

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 47769, this pair ranks #118,207 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

cortaba#29,567
cortadas#18,202

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cortaba" and "cortadas" be used interchangeably?
No, "cortaba" and "cortadas" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cortaba vs cortadas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cortaba”; for a participle, it's “cortadas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cortaba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list