votabanvsvotaránWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,757
“votaban” frequency rank
#27,449
“votarán” frequency rank
76206
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature votaban votarán
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de votar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de votar.

Where the eye mixes votaban and votarán

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. votaban and votarán follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
votaban
7 ch
votarán

Why the eye confuses votaban with votarán

A purely visual mix-up. votaban ([boˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and votarán ([bot̪aˈɾãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

votaban is recorded at frequency rank #48,757, classified as averb, pronounced [boˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. votarán is at rank #27,449, tagged as averb, pronounced [bot̪aˈɾãn].

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 76206, this pair ranks #18,167 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of votaban vs votarán

Shared letters: anotv. Private to "votaban": b. Private to "votarán": rá.

"votaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "votarán" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • votaban ← botaban · ovtaban · voatban · votaabn · votabann · votabban · votabna · votavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "votaban" and "votarán" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([boˈt̪aβ̞ãn] versus [bot̪aˈɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "votaban" vs "votarán" - which ranks higher?
"votarán" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,449 in our Spanish list, against #48,757 for "votaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "votaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "votarán" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #18,167 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "votaban" and "votarán" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "volaban vs votaban". 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 #18,167 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