motivavsmotivanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,518
“motiva” frequency rank
#32,765
“motivan” frequency rank
46283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set motiva and motivan apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
motiva
7 ch
motivan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. motiva ([moˈt̪iβ̞a]) and motivan ([moˈt̪iβ̞ãn]) 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) - “motiva” sits inside “motivan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

motiva is recorded at frequency rank #13,518, classified as averb, pronounced [moˈt̪iβ̞a]. motivan is at rank #32,765, tagged as averb, pronounced [moˈt̪iβ̞ãn].

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 46283, this pair ranks #126,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of motiva vs motivan

Shared letters: aimotv. Private to "motiva": -. Private to "motivan": n.

"motiva" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "motivan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • motivammotiva · moitva · motiav · motiba · motivva · mottiva · motvia · mtoiva
  • motivanmmotivan · moitvan · motiavn · motiban · motivann · motivna · motivvan · mottivan

Frequency comparison

motiva#13,518
motivan#32,765

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "motiva" and "motivan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([moˈt̪iβ̞a] versus [moˈt̪iβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "motiva" or "motivan"?
"motiva" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,518 in our Spanish list, against #32,765 for "motivan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering motiva vs motivan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “motiva” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list