prohíbavsprohíbeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,903
“prohíba” frequency rank
#10,199
“prohíbe” frequency rank
49102
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prohíba prohíbe
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de prohibir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de prohibir.

Where the eye mixes prohíba and prohíbe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
prohíba
7 ch
prohíbe

Visual trap between prohíba and prohíbe

A purely visual mix-up. prohíba ([pɾoˈiβ̞a]) and prohíbe ([pɾoˈiβ̞e]) 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 a single letter - a in “prohíba” becomes e in “prohíbe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prohíba is recorded at frequency rank #38,903, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈiβ̞a]. prohíbe is at rank #10,199, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈiβ̞e].

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 49102, this pair ranks #110,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prohíba vs prohíbe

Shared letters: bhoprí. Private to "prohíba": a. Private to "prohíbe": e.

"prohíba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "prohíbe" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "prohíba" and "prohíbe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɾoˈiβ̞a] versus [pɾoˈiβ̞e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "prohíba" vs "prohíbe" - which ranks higher?
"prohíbe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,199 in our Spanish list, against #38,903 for "prohíba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "prohíba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "prohíbe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #110,714 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prohíba" and "prohíbe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prohíba vs provida". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #110,714 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