demostrabavsdemostrarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,857
“demostraba” frequency rank
#2,394
“demostrar” frequency rank
33251
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demostraba demostrar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de demostrar. Hacer evidente o establecer con argumentos o razonamientos.

Where the eye mixes demostraba and demostrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. demostraba runs 10 letters (CVCVCCCVCV) against demostrar's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
demostraba
9 ch
demostrar

Visual trap between demostraba and demostrar

A purely visual mix-up. demostraba ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) and demostrar ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaɾ]) 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 33251, 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]. demostrar is at rank #2,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaɾ].

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 33251, this pair ranks #197,772 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demostraba vs demostrar

Shared letters: ademorst. Private to "demostraba": b. Private to "demostrar": -.

"demostraba" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCV  ·  "demostrar" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demostraba ← ddemostraba · demmostraba · demosrtaba · demosstraba · demostarba · demostraab · demostrabba · demostrava
  • demostrar ← ddemostrar · demmostrar · demosrtar · demosstrar · demostarr · demostrarr · demostrra · demostrrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "demostraba" for "demostrar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaβ̞a] versus [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "demostraba" vs "demostrar" - which ranks higher?
"demostrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,394 in our Spanish list, against #30,857 for "demostraba". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "demostraba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "demostrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #197,772 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demostraba" and "demostrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demostraba vs demostraría". 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 #197,772 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