abandonabavsabandonarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,222
“abandonaba” frequency rank
#3,096
“abandonar” frequency rank
45318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abandonaba abandonar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de abandonar o de abandonarse. Dejar, desamparar a una persona, animal o cosa. No hacer caso de ella.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abandonaba and abandonar apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
abandonaba
9 ch
abandonar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abandonaba ([aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaβ̞a]) and abandonar ([aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaɾ]) 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 45318, 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]. abandonar is at rank #3,096, tagged as averb, pronounced [aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaɾ].

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 45318, this pair ranks #132,103 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abandonaba vs abandonar

Shared letters: abdno. Private to "abandonaba": -. Private to "abandonar": r.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abandonabaaabndonaba · abadnonaba · abanddonaba · abandnoaba · abandoanba · abandonaab · abandonabba · abandonbaa
  • abandonaraabndonar · abadnonar · abanddonar · abandnoar · abandoanr · abandonarr · abandonnar · abandonra

Frequency comparison

abandonaba#42,222
abandonar#3,096

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abandonaba" and "abandonar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaβ̞a] versus [aβ̞ãn̪d̪oˈnaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abandonaba" or "abandonar"?
"abandonar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,096 in our Spanish list, against #42,222 for "abandonaba". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering abandonaba vs abandonar

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 “abandonaba” 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