quitabavsquitarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“quitaba” and “quitar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,807
“quitaba” frequency rank
#3,731
“quitar” frequency rank
33538
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quitaba quitar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quitar o de quitarse. Apartar algo de su poseedor.

Where the eye mixes quitaba and quitar

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

7 ch
quitaba
6 ch
quitar

Why the eye confuses quitaba with quitar

A purely visual mix-up. quitaba ([kiˈt̪aβ̞a]) and quitar ([kiˈt̪aɾ]) 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 33538, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quitaba is recorded at frequency rank #29,807, classified as averb, pronounced [kiˈt̪aβ̞a]. quitar is at rank #3,731, tagged as averb, pronounced [kiˈt̪aɾ].

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 33538, this pair ranks #196,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quitaba vs quitar

Shared letters: aiqtu. Private to "quitaba": b. Private to "quitar": r.

"quitaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "quitar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quitabaqiutaba · qquitaba · quiatba · quitaab · quitabba · quitava · quitbaa · quittaba
  • quitarqiutar · qquitar · quiatr · quitarr · quitra · quittar · qutiar · uqitar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quitaba" and "quitar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kiˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [kiˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quitaba" or "quitar"?
"quitar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,731 in our Spanish list, against #29,807 for "quitaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "quitaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quitar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quitaba" and "quitar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quitaba vs quitaban". 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 #196,265 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