Which to use
“prohibido” is an adjective and “prohibir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,353
- “prohibido” frequency rank
- #6,104
- “prohibir” frequency rank
- 9457
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prohibido | prohibir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que por ley, autoridad o estatuto no está consentido y es ilegítimo. Que no se permite. | 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 prohibido and prohibir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. prohibido runs 9 letters (CCVCVCVCV) against prohibir's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between prohibido and prohibir
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prohibido is [pɾojˈβ̞ið̞o] while prohibir is [pɾojˈβ̞iɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prohibido is recorded at frequency rank #3,353, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɾojˈβ̞ið̞o]. 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 9457, this pair ranks #301,866 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prohibido vs prohibir
Shared letters: bhiopr. Private to "prohibido": d. Private to "prohibir": -.
"prohibido" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV · "prohibir" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "prohibido" and "prohibir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "prohibido" vs "prohibir" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "prohibido" and "prohibir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "prohibido" 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 #301,866 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prohibido" and "prohibir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prohíba vs prohibir". 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 #301,866 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.