tocanvstomanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,923
“tocan” frequency rank
#3,086
“toman” frequency rank
11009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tocan toman
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tocar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse.

Where the eye mixes tocan and toman

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
tocan
5 ch
toman

Look-alike desk: tocan vs toman

A purely visual mix-up. tocan ([ˈt̪okãn]) and toman ([ˈt̪omãn]) 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 - c in “tocan” becomes m in “toman”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tocan is recorded at frequency rank #7,923, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪okãn]. toman is at rank #3,086, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪omãn].

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 11009, this pair ranks #296,583 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tocan vs toman

Shared letters: anot. Private to "tocan": c. Private to "toman": m.

"tocan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "toman" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tocanotcan · tcoan · toacn · tocann · toccan · tocna · ttocan
  • tomanotman · tmoan · toamn · tomann · tomman · tomna · ttoman

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tocan" and "toman" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt̪okãn] versus [ˈt̪omãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tocan" vs "toman" - which ranks higher?
"toman" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,086 in our Spanish list, against #7,923 for "tocan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tocan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "toman" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #296,583 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tocan" and "toman" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tacaño vs tocan". 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 #296,583 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