Which to use
“acompañaban” and “acompañan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,212
- “acompañaban” frequency rank
- #10,091
- “acompañan” frequency rank
- 38303
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acompañaban | acompañan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de acompañar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acompañar. |
Where the eye mixes acompañaban and acompañan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. acompañaban runs 11 letters (VCVCCVCVCVC) against acompañan's 9 (VCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: acompañaban vs acompañan
A purely visual mix-up. acompañaban ([akõmpaˈɲaβ̞ãn]) and acompañan ([akõmˈpaɲãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acompañaban is recorded at frequency rank #28,212, classified as averb, pronounced [akõmpaˈɲaβ̞ãn]. acompañan is at rank #10,091, tagged as averb, pronounced [akõmˈpaɲãn].
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 38303, this pair ranks #170,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acompañaban vs acompañan
Shared letters: acmnopñ. Private to "acompañaban": b. Private to "acompañan": -.
"acompañaban" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCVCVC · "acompañan" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "acompañaban" for "acompañan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "acompañaban" vs "acompañan" - 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 "acompañaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "acompañan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #170,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acompañaban" and "acompañan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acompañaban vs acompañarán". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #170,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.