dabavsdatanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,109
“daba” frequency rank
#25,209
“datan” frequency rank
27318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature daba datan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dar o de darse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de datar.

Where the eye mixes daba and datan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
daba
5 ch
datan

Why the eye confuses daba with datan

A purely visual mix-up. daba ([ˈd̪aβ̞a]) and datan ([ˈd̪at̪ãn]) 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 27318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

daba is recorded at frequency rank #2,109, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪aβ̞a]. datan is at rank #25,209, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪at̪ãn].

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 27318, this pair ranks #227,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of daba vs datan

Shared letters: ad. Private to "daba": b. Private to "datan": nt.

"daba" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "datan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dabaadba · daab · dabba · dava · dbaa · ddaba
  • datanadtan · daatn · datann · datna · dattan · ddatan · dtaan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "daba" and "datan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪aβ̞a] versus [ˈd̪at̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "daba" or "datan" show up more?
"daba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,109 in our Spanish list, against #25,209 for "datan". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "daba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "datan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "daba" and "datan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "datan vs delatan". 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 #227,404 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