desarrollabavsdesarrollabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,799
“desarrollaba” frequency rank
#38,048
“desarrollaban” frequency rank
64847
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desarrollaba desarrollaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desarrollar o de desarrollarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desarrollar.

Where the eye mixes desarrollaba and desarrollaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. desarrollaba runs 12 letters (CVCVCCVCCVCV) against desarrollaban's 13 (CVCVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
desarrollaba
13 ch
desarrollaban

Visual trap between desarrollaba and desarrollaban

A purely visual mix-up. desarrollaba ([d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞a]) and desarrollaban ([d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞ãn]) 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) - “desarrollaba” sits inside “desarrollaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desarrollaba is recorded at frequency rank #26,799, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞a]. desarrollaban is at rank #38,048, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞ãn].

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 64847, this pair ranks #44,380 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of desarrollaba vs desarrollaban

Shared letters: abdelors. Private to "desarrollaba": -. Private to "desarrollaban": n.

"desarrollaba" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVCV  ·  "desarrollaban" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desarrollaba ← ddesarrollaba · deasrrollaba · desarollaba · desarorllaba · desarrlolaba · desarrolaba · desarrolalba · desarrollaab
  • desarrollaban ← ddesarrollaban · deasrrollaban · desarollaban · desarorllaban · desarrlolaban · desarrolaban · desarrolalban · desarrollaabn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desarrollaba" and "desarrollaban" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞a] versus [d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "desarrollaba" or "desarrollaban"?
"desarrollaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,799 in our Spanish list, against #38,048 for "desarrollaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "desarrollaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "desarrollaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #44,380 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "desarrollaba" and "desarrollaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desarrollaban 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 #44,380 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