cortanvscortarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,941
“cortan” frequency rank
#3,472
“cortar” frequency rank
15413
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cortan cortar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cortar o de cortarse. Separar un objeto en dos partes mediante un cuchillo u otro objeto cortante.

Where the eye mixes cortan and cortar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
cortan
6 ch
cortar

Visual trap between cortan and cortar

A purely visual mix-up. cortan ([ˈkoɾt̪ãn]) and cortar ([koɾˈt̪aɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “cortan” becomes r in “cortar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cortan is recorded at frequency rank #11,941, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkoɾt̪ãn]. cortar is at rank #3,472, tagged as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aɾ].

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 15413, this pair ranks #280,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cortan vs cortar

Shared letters: acort. Private to "cortan": n. Private to "cortar": -.

"cortan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cortar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cortanccortan · coratn · corrtan · cortann · cortna · corttan · cotran · crotan
  • cortarccortar · coratr · corrtar · cortarr · cortra · corttar · cotrar · crotar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cortan" and "cortar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkoɾt̪ãn] versus [koɾˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cortan" or "cortar"?
"cortar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,472 in our Spanish list, against #11,941 for "cortan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cortan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cortar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #280,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cortan" and "cortar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortaban vs cortan". 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 #280,265 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