Which to use
“tomar” and “tumbar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #440
- “tomar” frequency rank
- #27,436
- “tumbar” frequency rank
- 27876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tomar | tumbar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Coger alguna cosa con la mano. | Hacer caer o derribar a una persona o cosa. |
Where the eye mixes tomar and tumbar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tomar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tumbar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tomar and tumbar
A purely visual mix-up. tomar ([t̪oˈmaɾ]) and tumbar ([t̪ũmˈbaɾ]) 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 27876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tomar is recorded at frequency rank #440, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaɾ]. tumbar is at rank #27,436, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ũmˈbaɾ].
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 27876, this pair ranks #224,730 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tomar vs tumbar
Shared letters: amrt. Private to "tomar": o. Private to "tumbar": bu.
"tomar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tumbar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tomar" and "tumbar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tomar" vs "tumbar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tomar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tumbar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #224,730 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tomar" and "tumbar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tumbar vs turbas". 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 #224,730 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.