Which to use
“alaban” and “andaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,557
- “alaban” frequency rank
- #17,861
- “andaban” frequency rank
- 57418
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alaban | andaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de alabar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de andar o de andarse. |
Where the eye mixes alaban and andaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alaban runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against andaban's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses alaban with andaban
A purely visual mix-up. alaban ([aˈlaβ̞ãn]) and andaban ([ãn̪ˈd̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 57418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alaban is recorded at frequency rank #39,557, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈlaβ̞ãn]. andaban is at rank #17,861, tagged as averb, pronounced [ãn̪ˈd̪aβ̞ãn].
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 57418, this pair ranks #70,587 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of alaban vs andaban
Shared letters: abn. Private to "alaban": l. Private to "andaban": d.
"alaban" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "andaban" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alaban" for "andaban" ever safe?
Frequency check: "alaban" vs "andaban" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "alaban" and "andaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "alaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "andaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,587 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alaban" and "andaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alaban vs Albany". 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 #70,587 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.