propinavsprovidaConfusable pair

Quick tell: propina is a noun, provida is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“propina” is a noun and “provida” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,254
“propina” frequency rank
#39,944
“provida” frequency rank
57198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature propina provida
Definition Pequeña cantidad de dinero que se da a cambio de un servicio además e independientemente del precio o salario convenido. Que está en contra del aborto.

Where the eye mixes propina and provida

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
propina
7 ch
provida

Look-alike desk: propina vs provida

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: propina is [pɾoˈpina] while provida is [pɾoˈβ̞ið̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

propina is recorded at frequency rank #17,254, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɾoˈpina]. provida is at rank #39,944, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞ið̞a].

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 57198, this pair ranks #71,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of propina vs provida

Shared letters: aiopr. Private to "propina": n. Private to "provida": dv.

"propina" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "provida" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • propinaporpina · ppropina · proipna · propian · propinna · propnia · proppina · prpoina
  • providaporvida · pprovida · probida · proivda · provdia · proviad · providda · provvida

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "propina" and "provida" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "propina" is a noun and "provida" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "propina" or "provida" show up more?
"propina" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,254 in our Spanish list, against #39,944 for "provida". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "propina" and "provida" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "propina" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "provida" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #71,459 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "propina" and "provida" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Poveda vs provida". 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 #71,459 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