Which to use
“acompañaba” and “acompañaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,019
- “acompañaba” frequency rank
- #28,212
- “acompañaban” frequency rank
- 47231
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acompañaba | acompañaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de acompañar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de acompañar. |
Where the eye mixes acompañaba and acompañaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. acompañaba runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCVCV) against acompañaban's 11 (VCVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses acompañaba with acompañaban
A purely visual mix-up. acompañaba ([akõmpaˈɲaβ̞a]) and acompañaban ([akõmpaˈɲaβ̞ãn]) 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) - “acompañaba” sits inside “acompañaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47231, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acompañaba is recorded at frequency rank #19,019, classified as averb, pronounced [akõmpaˈɲaβ̞a]. acompañaban is at rank #28,212, tagged as averb, pronounced [akõmpaˈɲaβ̞ãn].
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 47231, this pair ranks #121,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acompañaba vs acompañaban
Shared letters: abcmopñ. Private to "acompañaba": -. Private to "acompañaban": n.
"acompañaba" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCVCV · "acompañaban" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "acompañaba" for "acompañaban" ever safe?
Frequency check: "acompañaba" vs "acompañaban" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "acompañaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "acompañaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acompañaba" and "acompañaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acompañaban vs acompañarán". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #121,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.