tomarvstumbarWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tomar and tumbar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
tomar
6 ch
tumbar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • tomarotmar · tmoar · toamr · tomarr · tommar · tomra · ttomar
  • tumbartmubar · ttumbar · tubmar · tumabr · tumbarr · tumbbar · tumbra · tummbar

Frequency comparison

tomar#440
tumbar#27,436

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tomar" and "tumbar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈmaɾ] versus [t̪ũmˈbaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tomar" or "tumbar"?
"tomar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #440 in our Spanish list, against #27,436 for "tumbar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering tomar vs tumbar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tomar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list