Which to use
“provocaba” and “provocan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,070
- “provocaba” frequency rank
- #10,913
- “provocan” frequency rank
- 41983
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | provocaba | provocan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de provocar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de provocar. |
Where the eye mixes provocaba and provocan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. provocaba runs 9 letters (CCVCVCVCV) against provocan's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between provocaba and provocan
A purely visual mix-up. provocaba ([pɾoβ̞oˈkaβ̞a]) and provocan ([pɾoˈβ̞okãn]) 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 41983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
provocaba is recorded at frequency rank #31,070, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾoβ̞oˈkaβ̞a]. provocan is at rank #10,913, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾoˈβ̞okãn].
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 41983, this pair ranks #150,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of provocaba vs provocan
Shared letters: acoprv. Private to "provocaba": b. Private to "provocan": n.
"provocaba" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV · "provocan" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "provocaba" and "provocan" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "provocaba" or "provocan"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "provocaba" and "provocan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "provocaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "provocan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "provocaba" and "provocan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "provocaba vs provocaría". 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 #150,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.