tirabanvstocabanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,431
“tiraban” frequency rank
#25,070
“tocaban” frequency rank
57501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tiraban tocaban
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tirar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tocar.

Where the eye mixes tiraban and tocaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tiraban and tocaban follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
tiraban
7 ch
tocaban

Look-alike desk: tiraban vs tocaban

A purely visual mix-up. tiraban ([t̪iˈɾaβ̞ãn]) and tocaban ([t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tiraban is recorded at frequency rank #32,431, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪iˈɾaβ̞ãn]. tocaban is at rank #25,070, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn].

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 57501, this pair ranks #70,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tiraban vs tocaban

Shared letters: abnt. Private to "tiraban": ir. Private to "tocaban": co.

"tiraban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "tocaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tiraban ← itraban · tiarban · tiraabn · tirabann · tirabban · tirabna · tiravan · tirbaan
  • tocaban ← otcaban · tcoaban · toacban · tocaabn · tocabann · tocabban · tocabna · tocavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tiraban" and "tocaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪iˈɾaβ̞ãn] versus [t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tiraban" or "tocaban"?
"tocaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,070 in our Spanish list, against #32,431 for "tiraban". 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 "tiraban" and "tocaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tiraban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tocaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,265 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tiraban" and "tocaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tiraban vs Tirana". 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 #70,265 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