quitanvsquitandoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,056
“quitan” frequency rank
#14,217
“quitando” frequency rank
24273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quitan quitando
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de quitar o de quitarse. Gerundio de quitar.

Where the eye mixes quitan and quitando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
quitan
8 ch
quitando

Visual trap between quitan and quitando

A purely visual mix-up. quitan ([ˈkit̪ãn]) and quitando ([kiˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “quitan” sits inside “quitando”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quitan is recorded at frequency rank #10,056, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkit̪ãn]. quitando is at rank #14,217, tagged as averb, pronounced [kiˈt̪ãn̪d̪o].

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 24273, this pair ranks #241,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quitan vs quitando

Shared letters: ainqtu. Private to "quitan": -. Private to "quitando": do.

"quitan" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "quitando" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quitanqiutan · qquitan · quiatn · quitann · quittan · qutian · uqitan
  • quitandoqiutando · qquitando · quiatndo · quitadno · quitanddo · quitanndo · quitanod · quitnado

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quitan" and "quitando" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkit̪ãn] versus [kiˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quitan" or "quitando"?
"quitan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,056 in our Spanish list, against #14,217 for "quitando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "quitan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quitando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #241,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quitan" and "quitando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quitaban vs quitan". 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 #241,920 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