Which to use
“deseaban” and “desean” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,976
- “deseaban” frequency rank
- #5,818
- “desean” frequency rank
- 27794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deseaban | desean |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desear. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desear. |
Where the eye mixes deseaban and desean
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. deseaban runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against desean's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses deseaban with desean
A purely visual mix-up. deseaban ([d̪eseˈaβ̞ãn]) and desean ([d̪eˈseãn]) 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 27794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deseaban is recorded at frequency rank #21,976, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈaβ̞ãn]. desean is at rank #5,818, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈseãn].
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 27794, this pair ranks #225,127 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deseaban vs desean
Shared letters: adens. Private to "deseaban": b. Private to "desean": -.
"deseaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "desean" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deseaban" for "desean" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deseaban" or "desean"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "deseaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desean" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,127 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deseaban" and "desean" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deseaban vs deseadas". 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 #225,127 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.