ubicanvsubicarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,569
“ubican” frequency rank
#13,373
“ubicar” frequency rank
30942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ubican ubicar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ubicar o de ubicarse. Colocar o situar en determinado espacio o lugar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ubican and ubicar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ubican
6 ch
ubicar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ubican ([uˈβ̞ikãn]) and ubicar ([uβ̞iˈkaɾ]) 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 - n in “ubican” becomes r in “ubicar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ubican is recorded at frequency rank #17,569, classified as averb, pronounced [uˈβ̞ikãn]. ubicar is at rank #13,373, tagged as averb, pronounced [uβ̞iˈkaɾ].

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 30942, this pair ranks #209,562 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ubican vs ubicar

Shared letters: abciu. Private to "ubican": n. Private to "ubicar": r.

"ubican" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "ubicar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ubicanbuican · ubbican · ubcian · ubiacn · ubicann · ubiccan · ubicna · uibcan
  • ubicarbuicar · ubbicar · ubciar · ubiacr · ubicarr · ubiccar · ubicra · uibcar

Frequency comparison

ubican#17,569
ubicar#13,373

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ubican" and "ubicar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([uˈβ̞ikãn] versus [uβ̞iˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ubican" or "ubicar"?
"ubicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,373 in our Spanish list, against #17,569 for "ubican". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ubican vs ubicar

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 “ubican” 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