abandonabavsabandonanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#42,222
“abandonaba” frequency rank
#14,491
“abandonan” frequency rank
56713
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abandonaba abandonan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de abandonar o de abandonarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de abandonar o de abandonarse.

Where the eye mixes abandonaba and abandonan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abandonaba runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCVCV) against abandonan's 9 (VCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abandonaba
9 ch
abandonan

Look-alike desk: abandonaba vs abandonan

A purely visual mix-up. abandonaba ([aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaβ̞a]) and abandonan ([aβ̞ãn̪ˈd̪onãn]) 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 56713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abandonaba is recorded at frequency rank #42,222, classified as averb, pronounced [aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaβ̞a]. abandonan is at rank #14,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [aβ̞ãn̪ˈd̪onãn].

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 56713, this pair ranks #73,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abandonaba vs abandonan

Shared letters: abdno. Private to "abandonaba": -. Private to "abandonan": -.

"abandonaba" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCVCV  ·  "abandonan" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abandonaba ← aabndonaba · abadnonaba · abanddonaba · abandnoaba · abandoanba · abandonaab · abandonabba · abandonbaa
  • abandonan ← aabndonan · abadnonan · abanddonan · abandnoan · abandoann · abandonann · abandonnan · abanndonan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abandonaba" and "abandonan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaβ̞a] versus [aβ̞ãn̪ˈd̪onãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "abandonaba" or "abandonan" show up more?
"abandonan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,491 in our Spanish list, against #42,222 for "abandonaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abandonaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abandonan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #73,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abandonaba" and "abandonan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abandonaba vs abandonaría". 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 #73,430 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