Which to use
“aceptaban” and “acercaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,386
- “aceptaban” frequency rank
- #29,901
- “acercaban” frequency rank
- 63287
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aceptaban | acercaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aceptar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de acercar o de acercarse. |
Where the eye mixes aceptaban and acercaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aceptaban and acercaban follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between aceptaban and acercaban
A purely visual mix-up. aceptaban ([asepˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and acercaban ([aseɾˈkaβ̞ãn]) 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 63287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aceptaban is recorded at frequency rank #33,386, classified as averb, pronounced [asepˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. acercaban is at rank #29,901, tagged as averb, pronounced [aseɾˈkaβ̞ãn].
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 63287, this pair ranks #49,230 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of aceptaban vs acercaban
Shared letters: abcen. Private to "aceptaban": pt. Private to "acercaban": r.
"aceptaban" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC · "acercaban" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aceptaban" for "acercaban" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aceptaban" or "acercaban"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aceptaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "acercaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,230 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aceptaban" and "acercaban" 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 #49,230 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.