Which to use
“avanzaban” and “avanzan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,283
- “avanzaban” frequency rank
- #16,764
- “avanzan” frequency rank
- 59047
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | avanzaban | avanzan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de avanzar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de avanzar. |
Where the eye mixes avanzaban and avanzan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. avanzaban runs 9 letters (VCVCCVCVC) against avanzan's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between avanzaban and avanzan
A purely visual mix-up. avanzaban ([aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞ãn]) and avanzan ([aˈβ̞ãnsãn]) 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 59047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
avanzaban is recorded at frequency rank #42,283, classified as averb, pronounced [aβ̞ãnˈsaβ̞ãn]. avanzan is at rank #16,764, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ãnsãn].
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 59047, this pair ranks #64,092 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of avanzaban vs avanzan
Shared letters: anvz. Private to "avanzaban": b. Private to "avanzan": -.
"avanzaban" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC · "avanzan" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "avanzaban" for "avanzan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "avanzaban" or "avanzan" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "avanzaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "avanzan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,092 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "avanzaban" and "avanzan" 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 #64,092 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.