toleravstolerarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#23,622
“tolera” frequency rank
#12,265
“tolerar” frequency rank
35887
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tolera tolerar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tolerar. Poner el ánimo en situación de vivir y resistir una situación incómoda, molesta o de sufrimiento.

Where the eye mixes tolera and tolerar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tolera runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against tolerar's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
tolera
7 ch
tolerar

Why the eye confuses tolera with tolerar

A purely visual mix-up. tolera ([t̪oˈleɾa]) and tolerar ([t̪oleˈɾaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “tolera” sits inside “tolerar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tolera is recorded at frequency rank #23,622, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈleɾa]. tolerar is at rank #12,265, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oleˈɾaɾ].

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 35887, this pair ranks #183,618 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tolera vs tolerar

Shared letters: aelort. Private to "tolera": -. Private to "tolerar": -.

"tolera" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tolerar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tolera ← otlera · tloera · toelra · tolear · tollera · tolrea · ttolera
  • tolerar ← otlerar · tloerar · toelrar · tolearr · tolerarr · tolerra · tolerrar · tollerar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tolera" and "tolerar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈleɾa] versus [t̪oleˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tolera" or "tolerar"?
"tolerar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,265 in our Spanish list, against #23,622 for "tolera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tolera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tolerar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #183,618 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tolera" and "tolerar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tolera vs Torá". 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 #183,618 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