perturbavsperturbarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,800
“perturba” frequency rank
#29,340
“perturbar” frequency rank
62140
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature perturba perturbar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de perturbar. Alterar o trastornar. Producir desorden, inquietud o intranquilidad en algo o en alguien.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set perturba and perturbar apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
perturba
9 ch
perturbar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. perturba ([peɾˈt̪uɾβ̞a]) and perturbar ([peɾt̪uɾˈβ̞aɾ]) 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) - “perturba” sits inside “perturbar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62140, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

perturba is recorded at frequency rank #32,800, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾˈt̪uɾβ̞a]. perturbar is at rank #29,340, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾt̪uɾˈβ̞aɾ].

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 62140, this pair ranks #53,007 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of perturba vs perturbar

Shared letters: abeprtu. Private to "perturba": -. Private to "perturbar": -.

"perturba" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "perturbar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • perturbaeprturba · perrturba · pertruba · pertturba · pertubra · perturab · perturbba · perturrba
  • perturbareprturbar · perrturbar · pertrubar · pertturbar · pertubrar · perturabr · perturbarr · perturbbar

Frequency comparison

perturba#32,800
perturbar#29,340

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "perturba" and "perturbar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peɾˈt̪uɾβ̞a] versus [peɾt̪uɾˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "perturba" or "perturbar"?
"perturbar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,340 in our Spanish list, against #32,800 for "perturba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering perturba vs perturbar

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 “perturba” 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