Which to use
“cortaban” is a verb and “cortada” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,666
- “cortaban” frequency rank
- #12,788
- “cortada” frequency rank
- 57454
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cortaban | cortada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cortar. | Acción o efecto de cortar o de cortarse. |
Where the eye mixes cortaban and cortada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cortaban runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against cortada's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cortaban vs cortada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cortaban is [koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn] while cortada is [koɾˈt̪að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57454, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cortaban is recorded at frequency rank #44,666, classified as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. cortada is at rank #12,788, tagged as anoun, pronounced [koɾˈt̪að̞a].
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 57454, this pair ranks #70,452 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cortaban vs cortada
Shared letters: acort. Private to "cortaban": bn. Private to "cortada": d.
"cortaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "cortada" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cortaban" and "cortada" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "cortaban" or "cortada"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cortaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cortada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,452 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cortaban" and "cortada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortaban vs creaban". 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 #70,452 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.