apoyabavsapoyabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,278
“apoyaba” frequency rank
#20,889
“apoyaban” frequency rank
36167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apoyaba apoyaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de apoyar o de apoyarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de apoyar o de apoyarse.

Where the eye mixes apoyaba and apoyaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. apoyaba runs 7 letters (VCVVVCV) against apoyaban's 8 (VCVVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
apoyaba
8 ch
apoyaban

Look-alike desk: apoyaba vs apoyaban

A purely visual mix-up. apoyaba ([apoˈʝaβ̞a]) and apoyaban ([apoˈʝaβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “apoyaba” sits inside “apoyaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apoyaba is recorded at frequency rank #15,278, classified as averb, pronounced [apoˈʝaβ̞a]. apoyaban is at rank #20,889, tagged as averb, pronounced [apoˈʝaβ̞ãn].

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 36167, this pair ranks #182,106 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apoyaba vs apoyaban

Shared letters: abopy. Private to "apoyaba": -. Private to "apoyaban": n.

"apoyaba" · 7 letters · shape VCVVVCV  ·  "apoyaban" · 8 letters · shape VCVVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apoyaba ← aopyaba · apoayba · apoyaab · apoyabba · apoyava · apoybaa · apoyyaba · appoyaba
  • apoyaban ← aopyaban · apoayban · apoyaabn · apoyabann · apoyabban · apoyabna · apoyavan · apoybaan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "apoyaba" and "apoyaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([apoˈʝaβ̞a] versus [apoˈʝaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "apoyaba" or "apoyaban" show up more?
"apoyaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,278 in our Spanish list, against #20,889 for "apoyaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #182,106 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apoyaba" and "apoyaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "adoraban vs apoyaban". 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 #182,106 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