pruebavspruebanConfusable pair

Quick tell: prueba is a noun, prueban is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“prueba” is a noun and “prueban” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#714
“prueba” frequency rank
#17,796
“prueban” frequency rank
18510
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prueba prueban
Definition Acción o efecto de probar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de probar.

Where the eye mixes prueba and prueban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. prueba runs 6 letters (CCVVCV) against prueban's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
prueba
7 ch
prueban

Look-alike desk: prueba vs prueban

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prueba is [ˈpɾweβ̞a] while prueban is [ˈpɾweβ̞ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “prueba” sits inside “prueban”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prueba is recorded at frequency rank #714, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɾweβ̞a]. prueban is at rank #17,796, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpɾweβ̞ãn].

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 18510, this pair ranks #267,633 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of prueba vs prueban

Shared letters: abepru. Private to "prueba": -. Private to "prueban": n.

"prueba" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "prueban" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prueba ← pprueba · preuba · prrueba · prubea · prueab · pruebba · prueva · pureba
  • prueban ← pprueban · preuban · prrueban · prubean · prueabn · pruebann · pruebban · pruebna

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "prueba" for "prueban" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "prueba" is a noun and "prueban" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "prueba" vs "prueban" - which ranks higher?
"prueba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #714 in our Spanish list, against #17,796 for "prueban". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "prueba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "prueban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #267,633 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prueba" and "prueban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prueban vs pueblan". 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 #267,633 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