cortabanvscortaronWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,666
“cortaban” frequency rank
#13,874
“cortaron” frequency rank
58540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cortaban cortaron
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cortar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cortar o de cortarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
cortaban
8 ch
cortaron

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cortaban ([koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and cortaron ([koɾˈt̪aɾõn]) 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 58540, 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]. cortaron is at rank #13,874, tagged as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aɾõn].

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 58540, this pair ranks #66,096 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cortaban vs cortaron

Shared letters: acnort. Private to "cortaban": b. Private to "cortaron": -.

"cortaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "cortaron" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cortabanccortaban · coratban · corrtaban · cortaabn · cortabann · cortabban · cortabna · cortavan
  • cortaronccortaron · coratron · corrtaron · cortaorn · cortarno · cortaronn · cortarron · cortraon

Frequency comparison

cortaban#44,666
cortaron#13,874

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cortaban" and "cortaron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn] versus [koɾˈt̪aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cortaban" or "cortaron"?
"cortaron" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,874 in our Spanish list, against #44,666 for "cortaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cortaban vs cortaron

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cortaban” 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