proporcionabavsproporcionalWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: proporcionaba is a verb, proporcional is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“proporcionaba” is a verb and “proporcional” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,937
“proporcionaba” frequency rank
#9,183
“proporcional” frequency rank
41120
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature proporcionaba proporcional
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de proporcionar o de proporcionarse. Que pertenece o concierne a las proporciones.

Where the eye mixes proporcionaba and proporcional

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. proporcionaba runs 13 letters (CCVCVCCVVCVCV) against proporcional's 12 (CCVCVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
proporcionaba
12 ch
proporcional

Visual trap between proporcionaba and proporcional

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: proporcionaba is [pɾopoɾsjoˈnaβ̞a] while proporcional is [pɾopoɾsjoˈnal]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

proporcionaba is recorded at frequency rank #31,937, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾopoɾsjoˈnaβ̞a]. proporcional is at rank #9,183, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɾopoɾsjoˈnal].

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 41120, this pair ranks #155,425 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of proporcionaba vs proporcional

Shared letters: acinopr. Private to "proporcionaba": b. Private to "proporcional": l.

"proporcionaba" · 13 letters · shape CCVCVCCVVCVCV  ·  "proporcional" · 12 letters · shape CCVCVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • proporcionaba ← porporcionaba · pproporcionaba · prooprcionaba · propocrionaba · proporccionaba · proporcinoaba · proporcioanba · proporcionaab
  • proporcional ← porporcional · pproporcional · prooprcional · propocrional · proporccional · proporcinoal · proporcioanl · proporcionall

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "proporcionaba" and "proporcional" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "proporcionaba" is a verb and "proporcional" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "proporcionaba" vs "proporcional" - which ranks higher?
"proporcional" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,183 in our Spanish list, against #31,937 for "proporcionaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "proporcionaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "proporcional" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #155,425 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "proporcionaba" and "proporcional" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "proporcionaba vs proporcionadas". 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 #155,425 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