explotavsexplotanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,048
“explota” frequency rank
#17,963
“explotan” frequency rank
29011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explota explotan
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de explotar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de explotar.

Where the eye mixes explota and explotan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
explota
8 ch
explotan

Why the eye confuses explota with explotan

A purely visual mix-up. explota ([eksˈplot̪a]) and explotan ([eksˈplot̪ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “explota” sits inside “explotan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explota is recorded at frequency rank #11,048, classified as averb, pronounced [eksˈplot̪a]. explotan is at rank #17,963, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksˈplot̪ãn].

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 29011, this pair ranks #219,148 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of explota vs explotan

Shared letters: aeloptx. Private to "explota": -. Private to "explotan": n.

"explota" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "explotan" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explotaepxlota · exlpota · expllota · exploat · explotta · expltoa · expolta · expplota
  • explotanepxlotan · exlpotan · expllotan · exploatn · explotann · explotna · explottan · expltoan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "explota" for "explotan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eksˈplot̪a] versus [eksˈplot̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "explota" or "explotan" show up more?
"explota" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,048 in our Spanish list, against #17,963 for "explotan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explota" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explotan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #219,148 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explota" and "explotan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explotan vs exploten". 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 #219,148 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