bailabanvsbailarínWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bailaban is a verb, bailarín is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bailaban” is a verb and “bailarín” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,204
“bailaban” frequency rank
#16,274
“bailarín” frequency rank
57478
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bailaban bailarín
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de bailar. Que baila

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bailaban and bailarín apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
bailaban
8 ch
bailarín

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bailaban is [bajˈlaβ̞ãn] while bailarín is [bajlaˈɾĩn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bailaban is recorded at frequency rank #41,204, classified as averb, pronounced [bajˈlaβ̞ãn]. bailarín is at rank #16,274, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bajlaˈɾĩn].

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 57478, this pair ranks #70,356 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bailaban vs bailarín

Shared letters: abiln. Private to "bailaban": -. Private to "bailarín": .

"bailaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC  ·  "bailarín" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bailabanabilaban · baialban · bailaabn · bailabann · bailabban · bailabna · bailbaan · baillaban

Frequency comparison

bailaban#41,204
bailarín#16,274

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bailaban" and "bailarín" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bailaban" is a verb and "bailarín" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bailaban" or "bailarín"?
"bailarín" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,274 in our Spanish list, against #41,204 for "bailaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bailaban vs bailarín

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bailaban”; for an adjective, it's “bailarín”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bailaban” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list