Which to use
“desarrollaban” and “desarrollan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,048
- “desarrollaban” frequency rank
- #7,414
- “desarrollan” frequency rank
- 45462
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desarrollaban | desarrollan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desarrollar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desarrollar o de desarrollarse. |
Where the eye mixes desarrollaban and desarrollan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. desarrollaban runs 13 letters (CVCVCCVCCVCVC) against desarrollan's 11 (CVCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses desarrollaban with desarrollan
A purely visual mix-up. desarrollaban ([d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞ãn]) and desarrollan ([d̪esaˈroʝãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desarrollaban is recorded at frequency rank #38,048, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esaroˈʝaβ̞ãn]. desarrollan is at rank #7,414, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esaˈroʝãn].
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 45462, this pair ranks #131,308 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desarrollaban vs desarrollan
Shared letters: adelnors. Private to "desarrollaban": b. Private to "desarrollan": -.
"desarrollaban" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVCVC · "desarrollan" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desarrollaban ← ddesarrollaban · deasrrollaban · desarollaban · desarorllaban · desarrlolaban · desarrolaban · desarrolalban · desarrollaabn
- desarrollan ← ddesarrollan · deasrrollan · desarollan · desarorllan · desarrlolan · desarrolaln · desarrolan · desarrollann
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desarrollaban" for "desarrollan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desarrollaban" or "desarrollan" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "desarrollaban" and "desarrollan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "desarrollaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desarrollan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #131,308 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desarrollaban" and "desarrollan" 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 #131,308 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.