dabasvsdañanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#34,042
“dabas” frequency rank
#24,097
“dañan” frequency rank
58139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dabas dañan
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dañar.

Where the eye mixes dabas and dañan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. dabas and dañan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
dabas
5 ch
dañan

Look-alike desk: dabas vs dañan

A purely visual mix-up. dabas ([ˈd̪aβ̞as]) and dañan ([ˈd̪aɲãn]) 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 58139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dabas is recorded at frequency rank #34,042, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪aβ̞as]. dañan is at rank #24,097, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪aɲãn].

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 58139, this pair ranks #67,620 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dabas vs dañan

Shared letters: ad. Private to "dabas": bs. Private to "dañan": nñ.

"dabas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "dañan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dabas ← adbas · daabs · dabass · dabbas · dabsa · davas · dbaas · ddabas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dabas" and "dañan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪aβ̞as] versus [ˈd̪aɲãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dabas" or "dañan"?
"dañan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,097 in our Spanish list, against #34,042 for "dabas". 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 "dabas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dañan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #67,620 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dabas" and "dañan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dabas vs dimas". 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 #67,620 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