prohíbevsprohíbenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,199
“prohíbe” frequency rank
#23,558
“prohíben” frequency rank
33757
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prohíbe prohíben
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de prohibir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de prohibir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prohíbe and prohíben apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
prohíbe
8 ch
prohíben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prohíbe ([pɾoˈiβ̞e]) and prohíben ([pɾoˈiβ̞ẽn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “prohíbe” sits inside “prohíben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prohíbe is recorded at frequency rank #10,199, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈiβ̞e]. prohíben is at rank #23,558, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈiβ̞ẽn].

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 33757, this pair ranks #195,030 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prohíbe vs prohíben

Shared letters: behoprí. Private to "prohíbe": -. Private to "prohíben": n.

"prohíbe" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "prohíben" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

prohíbe#10,199
prohíben#23,558

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prohíbe" and "prohíben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾoˈiβ̞e] versus [pɾoˈiβ̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prohíbe" or "prohíben"?
"prohíbe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,199 in our Spanish list, against #23,558 for "prohíben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prohíbe vs prohíben

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 “prohíbe” 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