Which to use
“cambiaba” and “cambiaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,593
- “cambiaba” frequency rank
- #34,927
- “cambiaban” frequency rank
- 56520
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cambiaba | cambiaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cambiar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cambiar. |
Where the eye mixes cambiaba and cambiaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cambiaba and cambiaban
A purely visual mix-up. cambiaba ([kãmˈbjaβ̞a]) and cambiaban ([kãmˈbjaβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “cambiaba” sits inside “cambiaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cambiaba is recorded at frequency rank #21,593, classified as averb, pronounced [kãmˈbjaβ̞a]. cambiaban is at rank #34,927, tagged as averb, pronounced [kãmˈbjaβ̞ãn].
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 56520, this pair ranks #74,290 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cambiaba vs cambiaban
Shared letters: abcim. Private to "cambiaba": -. Private to "cambiaban": n.
"cambiaba" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "cambiaban" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cambiaba" and "cambiaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cambiaba" or "cambiaban" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "cambiaba" and "cambiaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cambiaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cambiaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,290 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cambiaba" and "cambiaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cambiaban vs cambiarían". 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 #74,290 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.