Which to use
“brilla” and “brillaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,365
- “brilla” frequency rank
- #37,466
- “brillaba” frequency rank
- 48831
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brilla | brillaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de brillar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de brillar. |
Where the eye mixes brilla and brillaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between brilla and brillaba
A purely visual mix-up. brilla ([ˈbɾiʝa]) and brillaba ([bɾiˈʝaβ̞a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “brilla” sits inside “brillaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brilla is recorded at frequency rank #11,365, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɾiʝa]. brillaba is at rank #37,466, tagged as averb, pronounced [bɾiˈʝaβ̞a].
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 48831, this pair ranks #112,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of brilla vs brillaba
Shared letters: abilr. Private to "brilla": -. Private to "brillaba": -.
"brilla" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "brillaba" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "brilla" and "brillaba" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "brilla" vs "brillaba" - which ranks higher?
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 "brilla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brillaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #112,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brilla" and "brillaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "brillaba vs brindaba". 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 #112,281 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.