otorgavsotorgabaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,543
“otorga” frequency rank
#35,659
“otorgaba” frequency rank
41202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature otorga otorgaba
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de otorgar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de otorgar.

Where the eye mixes otorga and otorgaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
otorga
8 ch
otorgaba

Look-alike desk: otorga vs otorgaba

A purely visual mix-up. otorga ([oˈt̪oɾɣ̞a]) and otorgaba ([ot̪oɾˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “otorga” sits inside “otorgaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

otorga is recorded at frequency rank #5,543, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈt̪oɾɣ̞a]. otorgaba is at rank #35,659, tagged as averb, pronounced [ot̪oɾˈɣ̞aβ̞a].

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 41202, this pair ranks #154,947 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of otorga vs otorgaba

Shared letters: agort. Private to "otorga": -. Private to "otorgaba": b.

"otorga" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "otorgaba" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • otorgaootrga · otogra · otorag · otorgga · otorrga · otroga · ottorga · toorga
  • otorgabaootrgaba · otograba · otoragba · otorgaab · otorgabba · otorgava · otorgbaa · otorggaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "otorga" and "otorgaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([oˈt̪oɾɣ̞a] versus [ot̪oɾˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "otorga" or "otorgaba" show up more?
"otorga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,543 in our Spanish list, against #35,659 for "otorgaba". 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 "otorga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "otorgaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #154,947 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "otorga" and "otorgaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "otorgaba vs otorgadas". 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 #154,947 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