posarvsprobarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#26,563
“posar” frequency rank
#1,994
“probar” frequency rank
28557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature posar probar
Definition Alojarse u hospedarse en una posada o casa particular. Estudiar el funcionamiento o las cualidades de algo.

Where the eye mixes posar and probar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
posar
6 ch
probar

Look-alike desk: posar vs probar

A purely visual mix-up. posar ([poˈsaɾ]) and probar ([pɾoˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 28557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

posar is recorded at frequency rank #26,563, classified as averb, pronounced [poˈsaɾ]. probar is at rank #1,994, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞aɾ].

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 28557, this pair ranks #221,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of posar vs probar

Shared letters: aopr. Private to "posar": s. Private to "probar": b.

"posar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "probar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • posaropsar · poasr · posarr · posra · possar · pposar · psoar
  • probarporbar · pprobar · prboar · proabr · probarr · probbar · probra · provar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "posar" for "probar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([poˈsaɾ] versus [pɾoˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "posar" or "probar" show up more?
"probar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,994 in our Spanish list, against #26,563 for "posar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "posar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "probar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #221,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "posar" and "probar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "petar vs posar". 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 #221,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list