limitanvslimitenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,854
“limitan” frequency rank
#43,685
“limiten” frequency rank
56539
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature limitan limiten
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de limitar o de limitarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de limitar o de limitarse.

Where the eye mixes limitan and limiten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. limitan and limiten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
limitan
7 ch
limiten

Visual trap between limitan and limiten

A purely visual mix-up. limitan ([liˈmit̪ãn]) and limiten ([liˈmit̪ẽn]) 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 - a in “limitan” becomes e in “limiten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56539, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

limitan is recorded at frequency rank #12,854, classified as averb, pronounced [liˈmit̪ãn]. limiten is at rank #43,685, tagged as averb, pronounced [liˈmit̪ẽn].

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 56539, this pair ranks #74,203 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of limitan vs limiten

Shared letters: ilmnt. Private to "limitan": a. Private to "limiten": e.

"limitan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "limiten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • limitan ← ilmitan · liimtan · limiatn · limitann · limitna · limittan · limmitan · limtian
  • limiten ← ilmiten · liimten · limietn · limitenn · limitne · limitten · limmiten · limtien

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "limitan" and "limiten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([liˈmit̪ãn] versus [liˈmit̪ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "limitan" vs "limiten" - which ranks higher?
"limitan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,854 in our Spanish list, against #43,685 for "limiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "limitan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "limiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #74,203 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "limitan" and "limiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "limiten vs limito". 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 #74,203 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