Which to use
“desarrolla” and “desarrollaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,153
- “desarrolla” frequency rank
- #26,799
- “desarrollaba” frequency rank
- 30952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desarrolla | desarrollaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desarrollar o de desarrollarse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desarrollar o de desarrollarse. |
Where the eye mixes desarrolla and desarrollaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. desarrolla runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCCV) against desarrollaba's 12 (CVCVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between desarrolla and desarrollaba
A purely visual mix-up. desarrolla ([d̪esaˈroʝa]) and desarrollaba ([d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “desarrolla” sits inside “desarrollaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desarrolla is recorded at frequency rank #4,153, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esaˈroʝa]. desarrollaba is at rank #26,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞a].
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 30952, this pair ranks #209,515 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desarrolla vs desarrollaba
Shared letters: adelors. Private to "desarrolla": -. Private to "desarrollaba": b.
"desarrolla" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV · "desarrollaba" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- desarrolla ← ddesarrolla · deasrrolla · desarolla · desarorlla · desarrlola · desarrola · desarrolal · desrarolla
- desarrollaba ← ddesarrollaba · deasrrollaba · desarollaba · desarorllaba · desarrlolaba · desarrolaba · desarrolalba · desarrollaab
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "desarrolla" and "desarrollaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desarrolla" or "desarrollaba" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "desarrolla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desarrollaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #209,515 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desarrolla" and "desarrollaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desarrollaba vs desarrollarán". 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 #209,515 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.