tomabavstomarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,886
“tomaba” frequency rank
#440
“tomar” frequency rank
9326
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tomaba tomar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse. Coger alguna cosa con la mano.

Where the eye mixes tomaba and tomar

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

6 ch
tomaba
5 ch
tomar

Look-alike desk: tomaba vs tomar

A purely visual mix-up. tomaba ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a]) and tomar ([t̪oˈmaɾ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tomaba is recorded at frequency rank #8,886, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaβ̞a]. tomar is at rank #440, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaɾ].

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 9326, this pair ranks #302,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tomaba vs tomar

Shared letters: amot. Private to "tomaba": b. Private to "tomar": r.

"tomaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tomar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomabaotmaba · tmoaba · toamba · tomaab · tomabba · tomava · tombaa · tommaba
  • tomarotmar · tmoar · toamr · tomarr · tommar · tomra · ttomar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tomaba" and "tomar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a] versus [t̪oˈmaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tomaba" or "tomar"?
"tomar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #440 in our Spanish list, against #8,886 for "tomaba". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "tomaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #302,249 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tomaba" and "tomar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tomaba vs tomb". 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 #302,249 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