alegabavsalegarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#47,531
“alegaba” frequency rank
#19,612
“alegar” frequency rank
67143
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alegaba alegar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de alegar. Expresar o citar argumentos a favor o en contra de algo o alguien.

Where the eye mixes alegaba and alegar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alegaba runs 7 letters (VCVCVCV) against alegar's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
alegaba
6 ch
alegar

Look-alike desk: alegaba vs alegar

A purely visual mix-up. alegaba ([aleˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) and alegar ([aleˈɣ̞aɾ]) 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 67143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alegaba is recorded at frequency rank #47,531, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞aβ̞a]. alegar is at rank #19,612, tagged as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞aɾ].

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 67143, this pair ranks #37,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alegaba vs alegar

Shared letters: aegl. Private to "alegaba": b. Private to "alegar": r.

"alegaba" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "alegar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alegaba ← aelgaba · aleagba · alegaab · alegabba · alegava · alegbaa · aleggaba · algeaba
  • alegar ← aelgar · aleagr · alegarr · aleggar · algear · allegar · laegar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alegaba" and "alegar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈɣ̞aβ̞a] versus [aleˈɣ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "alegaba" vs "alegar" - which ranks higher?
"alegar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,612 in our Spanish list, against #47,531 for "alegaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "alegaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alegar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alegaba" and "alegar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alegaba vs alojaba". 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 #37,929 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