saltabavssoltabaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,869
“saltaba” frequency rank
#49,282
“soltaba” frequency rank
82151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature saltaba soltaba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de saltar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de soltar.

Where the eye mixes saltaba and soltaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. saltaba and soltaba follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
saltaba
7 ch
soltaba

Why the eye confuses saltaba with soltaba

A purely visual mix-up. saltaba ([sal̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and soltaba ([sol̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 a single letter - a in “saltaba” becomes o in “soltaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

saltaba is recorded at frequency rank #32,869, classified as averb, pronounced [sal̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. soltaba is at rank #49,282, tagged as averb, pronounced [sol̪ˈt̪aβ̞a].

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 82151, this pair ranks #9,552 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of saltaba vs soltaba

Shared letters: ablst. Private to "saltaba": -. Private to "soltaba": o.

"saltaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "soltaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • saltaba ← asltaba · salatba · salltaba · saltaab · saltabba · saltava · saltbaa · salttaba
  • soltaba ← osltaba · slotaba · solatba · solltaba · soltaab · soltabba · soltava · soltbaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "saltaba" for "soltaba" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([sal̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [sol̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "saltaba" or "soltaba"?
"saltaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,869 in our Spanish list, against #49,282 for "soltaba". 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 "saltaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "soltaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #9,552 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "saltaba" and "soltaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soltaba vs sotana". 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 #9,552 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