dabanvsdiránConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,298
“daban” frequency rank
#7,707
“dirán” frequency rank
13005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature daban dirán
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de decir.

Where the eye mixes daban and dirán

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
daban
5 ch
dirán

Look-alike desk: daban vs dirán

A purely visual mix-up. daban ([ˈd̪aβ̞ãn]) and dirán ([d̪iˈɾãn]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

daban is recorded at frequency rank #5,298, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪aβ̞ãn]. dirán is at rank #7,707, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪iˈɾãn].

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 13005, this pair ranks #289,486 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of daban vs dirán

Shared letters: dn. Private to "daban": ab. Private to "dirán": irá.

"daban" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "dirán" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dabanadban · daabn · dabann · dabban · dabna · davan · dbaan · ddaban

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "daban" and "dirán" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪aβ̞ãn] versus [d̪iˈɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "daban" vs "dirán" - which ranks higher?
"daban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,298 in our Spanish list, against #7,707 for "dirán". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "daban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dirán" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #289,486 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "daban" and "dirán" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dimas vs dirán". 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 #289,486 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