Which to use
“compraban” and “compraron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,481
- “compraban” frequency rank
- #12,782
- “compraron” frequency rank
- 49263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compraban | compraron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de comprar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de comprar. |
Where the eye mixes compraban and compraron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between compraban and compraron
A purely visual mix-up. compraban ([kõmˈpɾaβ̞ãn]) and compraron ([kõmˈpɾaɾõn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compraban is recorded at frequency rank #36,481, classified as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpɾaβ̞ãn]. compraron is at rank #12,782, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõmˈpɾaɾõn].
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 49263, this pair ranks #109,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of compraban vs compraron
Shared letters: acmnopr. Private to "compraban": b. Private to "compraron": -.
"compraban" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "compraron" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compraban" and "compraron" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "compraban" or "compraron" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "compraban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compraron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compraban" and "compraron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comparaba vs compraban". 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 #109,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.