Which to use
“portan” and “posan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,904
- “portan” frequency rank
- #41,551
- “posan” frequency rank
- 65455
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | portan | posan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de portar o de portarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de posar. |
Where the eye mixes portan and posan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. portan runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against posan's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses portan with posan
A purely visual mix-up. portan ([ˈpoɾt̪ãn]) and posan ([ˈposãn]) 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 65455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
portan is recorded at frequency rank #23,904, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpoɾt̪ãn]. posan is at rank #41,551, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈposãn].
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 65455, this pair ranks #42,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of portan vs posan
Shared letters: anop. Private to "portan": rt. Private to "posan": s.
"portan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "posan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "portan" and "posan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "portan" vs "posan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "portan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "posan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "portan" and "posan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "posan vs postas". 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 #42,588 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.