notabavsnotanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,220
“notaba” frequency rank
#17,499
“notan” frequency rank
34719
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature notaba notan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de notar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de notar.

Where the eye mixes notaba and notan

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

6 ch
notaba
5 ch
notan

Why the eye confuses notaba with notan

A purely visual mix-up. notaba ([noˈt̪aβ̞a]) and notan ([ˈnot̪ãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

notaba is recorded at frequency rank #17,220, classified as averb, pronounced [noˈt̪aβ̞a]. notan is at rank #17,499, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnot̪ãn].

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 34719, this pair ranks #189,923 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of notaba vs notan

Shared letters: anot. Private to "notaba": b. Private to "notan": -.

"notaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "notan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • notabannotaba · noatba · notaab · notabba · notava · notbaa · nottaba · ntoaba
  • notannnotan · noatn · notann · notna · nottan · ntoan · ontan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "notaba" for "notan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([noˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [ˈnot̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "notaba" or "notan"?
"notaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,220 in our Spanish list, against #17,499 for "notan". 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 "notaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "notan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #189,923 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "notaba" and "notan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nadan vs notan". 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 #189,923 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