prohíbavsprohibíaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,903
“prohíba” frequency rank
#26,191
“prohibía” frequency rank
65094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prohíba prohibía
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de prohibir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de prohibir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prohíba and prohibía apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
prohíba
8 ch
prohibía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prohíba ([pɾoˈiβ̞a]) and prohibía ([pɾojˈβ̞ia]) 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 65094, 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]. prohibía is at rank #26,191, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾojˈβ̞ia].

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 65094, this pair ranks #43,651 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of prohíba vs prohibía

Shared letters: abhoprí. Private to "prohíba": -. Private to "prohibía": i.

"prohíba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "prohibía" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

prohíba#38,903
prohibía#26,191

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prohíba" and "prohibía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾoˈiβ̞a] versus [pɾojˈβ̞ia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prohíba" or "prohibía"?
"prohibía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,191 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.

Remembering prohíba vs prohibía

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prohíba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list