demostrabavsdemostrabanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,857
“demostraba” frequency rank
#46,475
“demostraban” frequency rank
77332
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demostraba demostraban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de demostrar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de demostrar.

Where the eye mixes demostraba and demostraban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. demostraba runs 10 letters (CVCVCCCVCV) against demostraban's 11 (CVCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
demostraba
11 ch
demostraban

Look-alike desk: demostraba vs demostraban

A purely visual mix-up. demostraba ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) and demostraban ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “demostraba” sits inside “demostraban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77332, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demostraba is recorded at frequency rank #30,857, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]. demostraban is at rank #46,475, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞ãn].

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 77332, this pair ranks #16,184 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of demostraba vs demostraban

Shared letters: abdemorst. Private to "demostraba": -. Private to "demostraban": n.

"demostraba" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCV  ·  "demostraban" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demostraba ← ddemostraba · demmostraba · demosrtaba · demosstraba · demostarba · demostraab · demostrabba · demostrava
  • demostraban ← ddemostraban · demmostraban · demosrtaban · demosstraban · demostarban · demostraabn · demostrabann · demostrabban

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "demostraba" and "demostraban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞a] versus [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "demostraba" or "demostraban" show up more?
"demostraba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,857 in our Spanish list, against #46,475 for "demostraban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "demostraba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "demostraban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #16,184 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demostraba" and "demostraban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demostraban vs demostrará". 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 #16,184 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