beavsbebíWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,902
“bea” frequency rank
#46,362
“bebí” frequency rank
67264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bea bebí
Definition Beber Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de beber o de beberse.

Where the eye mixes bea and bebí

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
bea
4 ch
bebí

Look-alike desk: bea vs bebí

A purely visual mix-up. bea (/ bea /) and bebí ([beˈβ̞i]) 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 67264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bea is recorded at frequency rank #20,902, classified as averb, pronounced / bea /. bebí is at rank #46,362, tagged as averb, pronounced [beˈβ̞i].

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 67264, this pair ranks #37,615 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bea vs bebí

Shared letters: be. Private to "bea": a. Private to "bebí": í.

"bea" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "bebí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bea" and "bebí" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ bea / versus [beˈβ̞i]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bea" or "bebí"?
"bea" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,902 in our Spanish list, against #46,362 for "bebí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bebí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,615 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bea" and "bebí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bebí vs ber". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #37,615 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