prevénvsproveaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#26,188
“prevén” frequency rank
#38,324
“provea” frequency rank
64512
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prevén provea
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de prevenir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de proveer o de proveerse.

Where the eye mixes prevén and provea

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. prevén (CCVCVC) and provea (CCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
prevén
6 ch
provea

Why the eye confuses prevén with provea

A purely visual mix-up. prevén ([pɾeˈβ̞ẽn]) and provea ([pɾoˈβ̞ea]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prevén is recorded at frequency rank #26,188, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈβ̞ẽn]. provea is at rank #38,324, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞ea].

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 64512, this pair ranks #45,359 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of prevén vs provea

Shared letters: eprv. Private to "prevén": né. Private to "provea": ao.

"prevén" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "provea" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • provea ← porvea · pprovea · probea · proeva · provae · provvea · prrovea · prvoea

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prevén" and "provea" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeˈβ̞ẽn] versus [pɾoˈβ̞ea]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prevén" or "provea"?
"prevén" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,188 in our Spanish list, against #38,324 for "provea". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "prevén" and "provea" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "prevén" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "provea" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #45,359 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prevén" and "provea" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "presea vs provea". 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 #45,359 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