explotavsexplotarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,048
“explota” frequency rank
#5,617
“explotar” frequency rank
16665
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explota explotar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de explotar. Beneficiar, laborear las minas, u otra cosa de importancia.

Where the eye mixes explota and explotar

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

7 ch
explota
8 ch
explotar

Visual trap between explota and explotar

A purely visual mix-up. explota ([eksˈplot̪a]) and explotar ([eksploˈt̪aɾ]) 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 “explotar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16665, 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]. explotar is at rank #5,617, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksploˈt̪aɾ].

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 16665, this pair ranks #275,250 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of explota vs explotar

Shared letters: aeloptx. Private to "explota": -. Private to "explotar": r.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explotaepxlota · exlpota · expllota · exploat · explotta · expltoa · expolta · expplota
  • explotarepxlotar · exlpotar · expllotar · exploatr · explotarr · explotra · explottar · expltoar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "explota" for "explotar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eksˈplot̪a] versus [eksploˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "explota" or "explotar" show up more?
"explotar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,617 in our Spanish list, against #11,048 for "explota". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "explota" and "explotar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explota" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explotar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #275,250 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explota" and "explotar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explore vs explota". 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 #275,250 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