amabavsavalaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,659
“amaba” frequency rank
#27,874
“avala” frequency rank
35533
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amaba avala
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de amar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de avalar.

Where the eye mixes amaba and avala

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
amaba
5 ch
avala

Visual trap between amaba and avala

A purely visual mix-up. amaba ([aˈmaβ̞a]) and avala ([aˈβ̞ala]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amaba is recorded at frequency rank #7,659, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈmaβ̞a]. avala is at rank #27,874, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ala].

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 35533, this pair ranks #185,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of amaba vs avala

Shared letters: a. Private to "amaba": bm. Private to "avala": lv.

"amaba" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "avala" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amabaaamba · amaab · amabba · amava · ambaa · ammaba · maaba
  • avalaaavla · abala · avaal · avalla · avlaa · avvala · vaala

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "amaba" and "avala" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aˈmaβ̞a] versus [aˈβ̞ala]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "amaba" or "avala"?
"amaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,659 in our Spanish list, against #27,874 for "avala". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "amaba" and "avala" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "amaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "avala" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #185,559 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "amaba" and "avala" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "avala vs avalar". 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 #185,559 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