Which to use
“prohíbe” and “prohibir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,199
- “prohíbe” frequency rank
- #6,104
- “prohibir” frequency rank
- 16303
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prohíbe | prohibir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de prohibir. | Negar el permiso o la posibilidad para la ejecución de una acción (o modo de obrar) o para el uso, consumo o presencia de algo en determinadas circunstancias. |
Where the eye mixes prohíbe and prohibir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. prohíbe runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against prohibir's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: prohíbe vs prohibir
A purely visual mix-up. prohíbe ([pɾoˈiβ̞e]) and prohibir ([pɾojˈβ̞iɾ]) 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 16303, 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]. prohibir is at rank #6,104, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾojˈβ̞iɾ].
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 16303, this pair ranks #276,720 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prohíbe vs prohibir
Shared letters: bhopr. Private to "prohíbe": eí. Private to "prohibir": i.
"prohíbe" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "prohibir" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- prohibir ← porhibir · pprohibir · prhoibir · prohbiir · prohhibir · prohibbir · prohibirr · prohibri
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prohíbe" for "prohibir" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "prohíbe" or "prohibir" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "prohíbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prohibir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #276,720 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prohíbe" and "prohibir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "profile vs prohíbe". 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 #276,720 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.