bailabavsbailanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#27,496
“bailaba” frequency rank
#18,163
“bailan” frequency rank
45659
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bailaba bailan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de bailar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de bailar.

Where the eye mixes bailaba and bailan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
bailaba
6 ch
bailan

Why the eye confuses bailaba with bailan

A purely visual mix-up. bailaba ([bajˈlaβ̞a]) and bailan ([ˈbajlãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45659, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bailaba is recorded at frequency rank #27,496, classified as averb, pronounced [bajˈlaβ̞a]. bailan is at rank #18,163, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbajlãn].

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 45659, this pair ranks #130,159 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bailaba vs bailan

Shared letters: abil. Private to "bailaba": -. Private to "bailan": n.

"bailaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "bailan" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bailabaabilaba · baialba · bailaab · bailabba · bailbaa · baillaba · baliaba · bbailaba
  • bailanabilan · baialn · bailann · baillan · bailna · balian · bbailan · bialan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bailaba" and "bailan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bajˈlaβ̞a] versus [ˈbajlãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bailaba" vs "bailan" - which ranks higher?
"bailan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,163 in our Spanish list, against #27,496 for "bailaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bailaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bailan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #130,159 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bailaba" and "bailan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bailaba vs bailable". 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 #130,159 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