Which to use
“acaba” and “amaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,232
- “acaba” frequency rank
- #7,659
- “amaba” frequency rank
- 8891
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acaba | amaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acabar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de amar. |
Where the eye mixes acaba and amaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: acaba vs amaba
A purely visual mix-up. acaba ([aˈkaβ̞a]) and amaba ([aˈmaβ̞a]) 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 a single letter - c in “acaba” becomes m in “amaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8891, 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]. amaba is at rank #7,659, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈmaβ̞a].
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 8891, this pair ranks #303,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of acaba vs amaba
Shared letters: ab. Private to "acaba": c. Private to "amaba": m.
"acaba" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "amaba" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "acaba" and "amaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "acaba" or "amaba" show up more?
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 "acaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acaba" and "amaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amaba vs amarra". 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 #303,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.