Which to use
“acaban” and “amabas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,892
- “acaban” frequency rank
- #43,369
- “amabas” frequency rank
- 47261
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acaban | amabas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acabar. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de amar. |
Where the eye mixes acaban and amabas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. acaban and amabas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses acaban with amabas
A purely visual mix-up. acaban ([aˈkaβ̞ãn]) and amabas ([aˈmaβ̞as]) 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 47261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acaban is recorded at frequency rank #3,892, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈkaβ̞ãn]. amabas is at rank #43,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈmaβ̞as].
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 47261, this pair ranks #121,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acaban vs amabas
Shared letters: ab. Private to "acaban": cn. Private to "amabas": ms.
"acaban" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "amabas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "acaban" and "amabas" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "acaban" or "amabas" 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 "acaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amabas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acaban" and "amabas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amabas vs amarras". 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 #121,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.