cruzabanvscruzanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,032
“cruzaban” frequency rank
#11,943
“cruzan” frequency rank
49975
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cruzaban cruzan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cruzar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cruzar.

Where the eye mixes cruzaban and cruzan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cruzaban runs 8 letters (CCVCVCVC) against cruzan's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
cruzaban
6 ch
cruzan

Look-alike desk: cruzaban vs cruzan

A purely visual mix-up. cruzaban ([kɾuˈsaβ̞ãn]) and cruzan ([ˈkɾusãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cruzaban is recorded at frequency rank #38,032, classified as averb, pronounced [kɾuˈsaβ̞ãn]. cruzan is at rank #11,943, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾusãn].

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 49975, this pair ranks #105,794 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cruzaban vs cruzan

Shared letters: acnruz. Private to "cruzaban": b. Private to "cruzan": -.

"cruzaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "cruzan" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cruzabanccruzaban · crruzaban · cruazban · cruzaabn · cruzabann · cruzabban · cruzabna · cruzavan
  • cruzanccruzan · crruzan · cruazn · cruzann · cruzna · cruzzan · crzuan · curzan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cruzaban" and "cruzan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kɾuˈsaβ̞ãn] versus [ˈkɾusãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cruzaban" or "cruzan"?
"cruzan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,943 in our Spanish list, against #38,032 for "cruzaban". 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 "cruzaban" and "cruzan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cruzaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cruzan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #105,794 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cruzaban" and "cruzan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "creaban vs cruzaban". 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 #105,794 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