aguantabavsaguantasTell them apart

Which to use

“aguantaba” and “aguantas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,854
“aguantaba” frequency rank
#34,424
“aguantas” frequency rank
70278
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aguantaba aguantas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aguantar o de aguantarse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de aguantar o de aguantarse.

Where the eye mixes aguantaba and aguantas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aguantaba runs 9 letters (VCVVCCVCV) against aguantas's 8 (VCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
aguantaba
8 ch
aguantas

Why the eye confuses aguantaba with aguantas

A purely visual mix-up. aguantaba ([aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and aguantas ([aˈɣ̞wãn̪t̪as]) 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 70278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aguantaba is recorded at frequency rank #35,854, classified as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. aguantas is at rank #34,424, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈɣ̞wãn̪t̪as].

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 70278, this pair ranks #30,068 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aguantaba vs aguantas

Shared letters: agntu. Private to "aguantaba": b. Private to "aguantas": s.

"aguantaba" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCCVCV  ·  "aguantas" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aguantabaagauntaba · agguantaba · aguanatba · aguanntaba · aguantaab · aguantabba · aguantava · aguantbaa
  • aguantasagauntas · agguantas · aguanats · aguanntas · aguantass · aguantsa · aguanttas · aguatnas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aguantaba" and "aguantas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [aˈɣ̞wãn̪t̪as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aguantaba" or "aguantas"?
"aguantas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,424 in our Spanish list, against #35,854 for "aguantaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aguantaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aguantas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #30,068 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aguantaba" and "aguantas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aguantamos vs aguantas". 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 #30,068 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list