Which to use
“portaba” and “portaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,192
- “portaba” frequency rank
- #36,762
- “portaban” frequency rank
- 66954
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | portaba | portaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de portar o de portarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de portar. |
Where the eye mixes portaba and portaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. portaba runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against portaban's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses portaba with portaban
A purely visual mix-up. portaba ([poɾˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 extra letter(s) - “portaba” sits inside “portaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
portaba is recorded at frequency rank #30,192, classified as averb, pronounced [poɾˈt̪aβ̞a]. 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 66954, this pair ranks #38,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of portaba vs portaban
Shared letters: aboprt. Private to "portaba": -. Private to "portaban": n.
"portaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "portaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "portaba" and "portaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "portaba" or "portaban" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "portaba" 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 #38,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "portaba" and "portaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paraban vs portaban". 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 #38,416 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.