amabasvsamadasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: amabas is a verb, amadas is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“amabas” is a verb and “amadas” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,369
“amabas” frequency rank
#48,198
“amadas” frequency rank
91567
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amabas amadas
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de amar. Forma del femenino plural de amado.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
amabas
6 ch
amadas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: amabas is [aˈmaβ̞as] while amadas is [aˈmað̞as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “amabas” becomes d in “amadas”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 91567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amabas is recorded at frequency rank #43,369, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈmaβ̞as]. amadas is at rank #48,198, tagged as anadj, pronounced [aˈmað̞as].

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 91567, this pair ranks #1,908 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of amabas vs amadas

Shared letters: ams. Private to "amabas": b. Private to "amadas": d.

"amabas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "amadas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amabasaambas · amaabs · amabass · amabbas · amabsa · amavas · ambaas · ammabas
  • amadasaamdas · amaads · amadass · amaddas · amadsa · amdaas · maadas

Frequency comparison

amabas#43,369
amadas#48,198

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "amabas" and "amadas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "amabas" is a verb and "amadas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "amabas" or "amadas"?
"amabas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,369 in our Spanish list, against #48,198 for "amadas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering amabas vs amadas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “amabas”; for an adjective, it's “amadas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “amabas” 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