callaba

[kaˈʝaβ̞a]

/[kaˈʝaβ̞a]/ verb

The verdict

“callaba” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #66,735 among 8,288 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#66,735
frequency rank, Spanish
8,288
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de callar o de callarse.

Corpus desk

Index ES-callaba · callaba · Spanish

callaba · rank #66,735 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #66,735
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,288
  • PHOTO-FINISH caleidoscopio

Nearest frequency peer: caleidoscopio (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “callaba”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “callaba” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for callaba
PropertyValue
Headwordcallaba
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechVerb
IPA[kaˈʝaβ̞a]
Letters7
Frequency rank#66,735
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “callaba” en español

La frecuencia va del puñado de palabras que usamos sin parar (izquierda) a la cola larga que apenas aparece (derecha).callabacae en esta cola de rareza:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

El eje es logarítmico: cada tick marca unas diez veces menos frecuencia. Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “caleidoscopio” (#66,734), “cambiarios” (#66,736), “canalizados” (#66,737). Entre 8,288 lemas con “C”, “callaba” va en #66,735. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

callaba is uncommon Spanish at frequency #66,735 among 8,288 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [kaˈʝaβ̞a]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for callaba in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is callaba, spelled C-A-L-L-A-B-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de callar o de callarse.
  2. 2
    Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de callar o de callarse.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "callaba"?
"callaba" is spelled C-A-L-L-A-B-A. The IPA pronunciation is [kaˈʝaβ̞a].
What does "callaba" mean?
As a verb, "callaba" means: Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de callar o de callarse.
How do you pronounce "callaba"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "callaba" is [kaˈʝaβ̞a]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "callaba" come from?
"callaba" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "callaba", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list