cuidabavscursabaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#25,587
“cuidaba” frequency rank
#47,691
“cursaba” frequency rank
73278
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuidaba cursaba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cuidar o de cuidarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cursar.

Where the eye mixes cuidaba and cursaba

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

7 ch
cuidaba
7 ch
cursaba

Visual trap between cuidaba and cursaba

A purely visual mix-up. cuidaba ([kwiˈð̞aβ̞a]) and cursaba ([kuɾˈsaβ̞a]) 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 73278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuidaba is recorded at frequency rank #25,587, classified as averb, pronounced [kwiˈð̞aβ̞a]. cursaba is at rank #47,691, tagged as averb, pronounced [kuɾˈsaβ̞a].

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 73278, this pair ranks #23,616 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cuidaba vs cursaba

Shared letters: abcu. Private to "cuidaba": di. Private to "cursaba": rs.

"cuidaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "cursaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuidabaccuidaba · ciudaba · cudiaba · cuiadba · cuidaab · cuidabba · cuidava · cuidbaa
  • cursabaccursaba · crusaba · curasba · currsaba · cursaab · cursabba · cursava · cursbaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cuidaba" for "cursaba" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kwiˈð̞aβ̞a] versus [kuɾˈsaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cuidaba" or "cursaba"?
"cuidaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,587 in our Spanish list, against #47,691 for "cursaba". 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 "cuidaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cursaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #23,616 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cuidaba" and "cursaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cursaba vs cursada". 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 #23,616 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