acabanvsamabasWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set acaban and amabas apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
acaban
6 ch
amabas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • acabanaacban · acaabn · acabann · acabban · acabna · acavan · acbaan · accaban
  • amabasaambas · amaabs · amabass · amabbas · amabsa · amavas · ambaas · ammabas

Frequency comparison

acaban#3,892
amabas#43,369

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acaban" and "amabas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈkaβ̞ãn] versus [aˈmaβ̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acaban" or "amabas"?
"acaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,892 in our Spanish list, against #43,369 for "amabas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering acaban vs amabas

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 “acaban” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list