aceptabavsaceptabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,556
“aceptaba” frequency rank
#33,386
“aceptaban” frequency rank
55942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aceptaba aceptaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aceptar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aceptar.

Where the eye mixes aceptaba and aceptaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aceptaba runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCV) against aceptaban's 9 (VCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
aceptaba
9 ch
aceptaban

Why the eye confuses aceptaba with aceptaban

A purely visual mix-up. aceptaba ([asepˈt̪aβ̞a]) and aceptaban ([asepˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “aceptaba” sits inside “aceptaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aceptaba is recorded at frequency rank #22,556, classified as averb, pronounced [asepˈt̪aβ̞a]. aceptaban is at rank #33,386, tagged as averb, pronounced [asepˈt̪aβ̞ãn].

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 55942, this pair ranks #76,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aceptaba vs aceptaban

Shared letters: abcept. Private to "aceptaba": -. Private to "aceptaban": n.

"aceptaba" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV  ·  "aceptaban" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aceptaba ← acceptaba · acepatba · acepptaba · aceptaab · aceptabba · aceptava · aceptbaa · acepttaba
  • aceptaban ← acceptaban · acepatban · acepptaban · aceptaabn · aceptabann · aceptabban · aceptabna · aceptavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aceptaba" and "aceptaban" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([asepˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [asepˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aceptaba" vs "aceptaban" - which ranks higher?
"aceptaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,556 in our Spanish list, against #33,386 for "aceptaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "aceptaba" and "aceptaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aceptaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aceptaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #76,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aceptaba" and "aceptaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aceptaban vs aceptarían". 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 #76,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list