caminabavscaminabanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,781
“caminaba” frequency rank
#34,928
“caminaban” frequency rank
49709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caminaba caminaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de caminar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de caminar.

Where the eye mixes caminaba and caminaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. caminaba runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against caminaban's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
caminaba
9 ch
caminaban

Look-alike desk: caminaba vs caminaban

A purely visual mix-up. caminaba ([kamiˈnaβ̞a]) and caminaban ([kamiˈnaβ̞ãn]) 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) - “caminaba” sits inside “caminaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caminaba is recorded at frequency rank #14,781, classified as averb, pronounced [kamiˈnaβ̞a]. caminaban is at rank #34,928, tagged as averb, pronounced [kamiˈnaβ̞ãn].

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 49709, this pair ranks #107,273 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caminaba vs caminaban

Shared letters: abcimn. Private to "caminaba": -. Private to "caminaban": -.

"caminaba" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "caminaban" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caminabaacminaba · caimnaba · camianba · caminaab · caminabba · caminava · caminbaa · caminnaba
  • caminabanacminaban · caimnaban · camianban · caminaabn · caminabann · caminabban · caminabna · caminavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "caminaba" for "caminaban" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kamiˈnaβ̞a] versus [kamiˈnaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caminaba" or "caminaban"?
"caminaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,781 in our Spanish list, against #34,928 for "caminaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "caminaba" and "caminaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "caminaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "caminaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #107,273 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "caminaba" and "caminaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caminaban vs caminaron". 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 #107,273 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