Which to use
“acaba” and “alabó” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,232
- “acaba” frequency rank
- #33,402
- “alabó” frequency rank
- 34634
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acaba | alabó |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acabar. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de alabar. |
Where the eye mixes acaba and alabó
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses acaba with alabó
A purely visual mix-up. acaba ([aˈkaβ̞a]) and alabó ([alaˈβ̞o]) 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 34634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acaba is recorded at frequency rank #1,232, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈkaβ̞a]. alabó is at rank #33,402, tagged as averb, pronounced [alaˈβ̞o].
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 34634, this pair ranks #190,397 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acaba vs alabó
Shared letters: ab. Private to "acaba": c. Private to "alabó": ló.
"acaba" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "alabó" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- acaba ← aacba · acaab · acabba · acava · acbaa · accaba · caaba
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "acaba" and "alabó" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "acaba" vs "alabó" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "acaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alabó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #190,397 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acaba" and "alabó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alabó vs alió". 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 #190,397 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.