acompañabanvsacompañanWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set acompañaban and acompañan apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
acompañaban
9 ch
acompañan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

acompañaban#28,212
acompañan#10,091

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acompañaban" and "acompañan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([akõmpaˈɲaβ̞ãn] versus [akõmˈpaɲãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acompañaban" or "acompañan"?
"acompañan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,091 in our Spanish list, against #28,212 for "acompañaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acompañaban vs acompañan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “acompañaban” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list