avanzabavsavanzabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,907
“avanzaba” frequency rank
#42,283
“avanzaban” frequency rank
64190
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature avanzaba avanzaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de avanzar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de avanzar.

Where the eye mixes avanzaba and avanzaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. avanzaba runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCV) against avanzaban's 9 (VCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
avanzaba
9 ch
avanzaban

Look-alike desk: avanzaba vs avanzaban

A purely visual mix-up. avanzaba ([aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞a]) and avanzaban ([aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞ãn]) 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) - “avanzaba” sits inside “avanzaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

avanzaba is recorded at frequency rank #21,907, classified as averb, pronounced [aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞a]. avanzaban is at rank #42,283, tagged as averb, pronounced [aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞ãn].

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 64190, this pair ranks #46,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of avanzaba vs avanzaban

Shared letters: abnvz. Private to "avanzaba": -. Private to "avanzaban": -.

"avanzaba" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV  ·  "avanzaban" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • avanzaba ← aavnzaba · abanzaba · avanazba · avannzaba · avanzaab · avanzabba · avanzava · avanzbaa
  • avanzaban ← aavnzaban · abanzaban · avanazban · avannzaban · avanzaabn · avanzabann · avanzabban · avanzabna

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "avanzaba" for "avanzaban" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞a] versus [aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "avanzaba" vs "avanzaban" - which ranks higher?
"avanzaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,907 in our Spanish list, against #42,283 for "avanzaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "avanzaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "avanzaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #46,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "avanzaba" and "avanzaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alcanzaban vs avanzaban". 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 #46,345 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