negabavsnotabaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,810
“negaba” frequency rank
#17,220
“notaba” frequency rank
37030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature negaba notaba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de negar o de negarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de notar.

Where the eye mixes negaba and notaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
negaba
6 ch
notaba

Why the eye confuses negaba with notaba

A purely visual mix-up. negaba ([neˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) and notaba ([noˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 37030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

negaba is recorded at frequency rank #19,810, classified as averb, pronounced [neˈɣ̞aβ̞a]. notaba is at rank #17,220, tagged as averb, pronounced [noˈt̪aβ̞a].

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 37030, this pair ranks #177,508 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of negaba vs notaba

Shared letters: abn. Private to "negaba": eg. Private to "notaba": ot.

"negaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "notaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • negabaengaba · neagba · negaab · negabba · negava · negbaa · neggaba · ngeaba
  • notabannotaba · noatba · notaab · notabba · notava · notbaa · nottaba · ntoaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "negaba" and "notaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([neˈɣ̞aβ̞a] versus [noˈt̪aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "negaba" or "notaba" show up more?
"notaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,220 in our Spanish list, against #19,810 for "negaba". 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 "negaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "notaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #177,508 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "negaba" and "notaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "negaba vs negará". 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 #177,508 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