bebasvsbebíWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#43,420
“bebas” frequency rank
#46,362
“bebí” frequency rank
89782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bebas bebí
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de beber o de beberse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de beber o de beberse.

Where the eye mixes bebas and bebí

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
bebas
4 ch
bebí

Why the eye confuses bebas with bebí

A purely visual mix-up. bebas ([ˈbeβ̞as]) 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 89782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bebas is recorded at frequency rank #43,420, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbeβ̞as]. 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 89782, this pair ranks #2,902 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bebas vs bebí

Shared letters: be. Private to "bebas": as. Private to "bebí": í.

"bebas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bebí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bebasbbeas · bbebas · beabs · bebass · bebbas · bebsa · ebbas · vevas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bebas" and "bebí" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbeβ̞as] versus [beˈβ̞i]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bebas" vs "bebí" - which ranks higher?
"bebas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,420 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bebas" 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 #2,902 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bebas" and "bebí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bebí vs ber". 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 #2,902 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