Which to use
“beben” and “been” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,582
- “beben” frequency rank
- #20,584
- “been” frequency rank
- 41166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beben | been |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de beber o de beberse. | Pasado participio del verbo to be (ser/estar). |
Where the eye mixes beben and been
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses beben with been
A purely visual mix-up. beben ([ˈbeβ̞ẽn]) and been (/bɪn/) 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 41166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beben is recorded at frequency rank #20,582, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbeβ̞ẽn]. been is at rank #20,584, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɪn/.
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 41166, this pair ranks #155,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of beben vs been
Shared letters: ben. Private to "beben": -. Private to "been": -.
"beben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "been" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beben" for "been" ever safe?
Which is more common, "beben" or "been"?
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 "beben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "been" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #155,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beben" and "been" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bain vs been". 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 #155,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.