Which to use
“portaban” and “portan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,762
- “portaban” frequency rank
- #23,904
- “portan” frequency rank
- 60666
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | portaban | portan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de portar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de portar o de portarse. |
Where the eye mixes portaban and portan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. portaban runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against portan's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses portaban with portan
A purely visual mix-up. portaban ([poɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and portan ([ˈpoɾt̪ãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
portaban is recorded at frequency rank #36,762, classified as averb, pronounced [poɾˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. portan is at rank #23,904, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpoɾt̪ãn].
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 60666, this pair ranks #58,164 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of portaban vs portan
Shared letters: anoprt. Private to "portaban": b. Private to "portan": -.
"portaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "portan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "portaban" for "portan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "portaban" or "portan"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "portaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "portan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,164 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "portaban" and "portan" 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 #58,164 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.