amabanvsamabasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,925
“amaban” frequency rank
#43,369
“amabas” frequency rank
77294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amaban amabas
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de amar. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de amar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set amaban and amabas apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
amaban
6 ch
amabas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. amaban ([aˈmaβ̞ãn]) and amabas ([aˈmaβ̞as]) 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 a single letter - n in “amaban” becomes s in “amabas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amaban is recorded at frequency rank #33,925, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈmaβ̞ãn]. amabas is at rank #43,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈmaβ̞as].

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 77294, this pair ranks #16,254 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of amaban vs amabas

Shared letters: abm. Private to "amaban": n. Private to "amabas": s.

"amaban" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "amabas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amabanaamban · amaabn · amabann · amabban · amabna · amavan · ambaan · ammaban
  • amabasaambas · amaabs · amabass · amabbas · amabsa · amavas · ambaas · ammabas

Frequency comparison

amaban#33,925
amabas#43,369

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "amaban" and "amabas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈmaβ̞ãn] versus [aˈmaβ̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "amaban" or "amabas"?
"amaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,925 in our Spanish list, against #43,369 for "amabas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering amaban vs amabas

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 “amaban” 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