apoyabanvsapoyanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,889
“apoyaban” frequency rank
#5,280
“apoyan” frequency rank
26169
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes apoyaban and apoyan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. apoyaban runs 8 letters (VCVVVCVC) against apoyan's 6 (VCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
apoyaban
6 ch
apoyan

Why the eye confuses apoyaban with apoyan

A purely visual mix-up. apoyaban ([apoˈʝaβ̞ãn]) and apoyan ([aˈpoʝãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apoyaban is recorded at frequency rank #20,889, classified as averb, pronounced [apoˈʝaβ̞ãn]. apoyan is at rank #5,280, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpoʝãn].

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 26169, this pair ranks #232,961 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apoyaban vs apoyan

Shared letters: anopy. Private to "apoyaban": b. Private to "apoyan": -.

"apoyaban" · 8 letters · shape VCVVVCVC  ·  "apoyan" · 6 letters · shape VCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apoyaban ← aopyaban · apoayban · apoyaabn · apoyabann · apoyabban · apoyabna · apoyavan · apoybaan
  • apoyan ← aopyan · apoayn · apoyann · apoyna · apoyyan · appoyan · apyoan · paoyan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apoyaban" and "apoyan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apoˈʝaβ̞ãn] versus [aˈpoʝãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apoyaban" or "apoyan"?
"apoyan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,280 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #232,961 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apoyaban" and "apoyan" 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 #232,961 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