Which to use
“paraban” and “portaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,287
- “paraban” frequency rank
- #36,762
- “portaban” frequency rank
- 75049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paraban | portaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de parar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de portar. |
Where the eye mixes paraban and portaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. paraban runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against portaban's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: paraban vs portaban
A purely visual mix-up. paraban ([paˈɾaβ̞ãn]) and portaban ([poɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 75049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paraban is recorded at frequency rank #38,287, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈɾaβ̞ãn]. portaban is at rank #36,762, tagged as averb, pronounced [poɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn].
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 75049, this pair ranks #20,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of paraban vs portaban
Shared letters: abnpr. Private to "paraban": -. Private to "portaban": ot.
"paraban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "portaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paraban" for "portaban" ever safe?
Which is more common, "paraban" or "portaban"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "paraban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "portaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paraban" and "portaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paraban vs partían". 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 #20,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.