Which to use
“brillaba” and “brillan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,466
- “brillaba” frequency rank
- #20,286
- “brillan” frequency rank
- 57752
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brillaba | brillan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de brillar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de brillar. |
Where the eye mixes brillaba and brillan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. brillaba runs 8 letters (CCVCCVCV) against brillan's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses brillaba with brillan
A purely visual mix-up. brillaba ([bɾiˈʝaβ̞a]) and brillan ([ˈbɾiʝãn]) 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 57752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brillaba is recorded at frequency rank #37,466, classified as averb, pronounced [bɾiˈʝaβ̞a]. brillan is at rank #20,286, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɾiʝãn].
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 57752, this pair ranks #69,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of brillaba vs brillan
Shared letters: abilr. Private to "brillaba": -. Private to "brillan": n.
"brillaba" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV · "brillan" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "brillaba" for "brillan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "brillaba" or "brillan" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "brillaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brillan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brillaba" and "brillan" 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 #69,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.