Which to use
“cortaban” and “costaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,666
- “cortaban” frequency rank
- #14,801
- “costaba” frequency rank
- 59467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cortaban | costaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cortar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de costar. |
Where the eye mixes cortaban and costaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cortaban runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against costaba's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cortaban with costaba
A purely visual mix-up. cortaban ([koɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and costaba ([kosˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 59467, 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]. costaba is at rank #14,801, tagged as averb, pronounced [kosˈt̪aβ̞a].
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 59467, this pair ranks #62,511 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cortaban vs costaba
Shared letters: abcot. Private to "cortaban": nr. Private to "costaba": s.
"cortaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "costaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cortaban" for "costaba" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cortaban" or "costaba"?
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 "costaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,511 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cortaban" and "costaba" 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 #62,511 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.