Which to use
“acercaba” and “acercan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,744
- “acercaba” frequency rank
- #9,565
- “acercan” frequency rank
- 24309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acercaba | acercan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de acercar o de acercarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acercar o de acercarse. |
Where the eye mixes acercaba and acercan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between acercaba and acercan
A purely visual mix-up. acercaba ([aseɾˈkaβ̞a]) and acercan ([aˈseɾkãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acercaba is recorded at frequency rank #14,744, classified as averb, pronounced [aseɾˈkaβ̞a]. acercan is at rank #9,565, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈseɾkãn].
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 24309, this pair ranks #241,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acercaba vs acercan
Shared letters: acer. Private to "acercaba": b. Private to "acercan": n.
"acercaba" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV · "acercan" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "acercaba" for "acercan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "acercaba" or "acercan" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "acercaba" and "acercan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "acercaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "acercan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #241,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acercaba" and "acercan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acercaba vs acercará". 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 #241,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.