Which to use
“destacaban” and “destacan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,859
- “destacaban” frequency rank
- #5,821
- “destacan” frequency rank
- 47680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | destacaban | destacan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de destacar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de destacar. |
Where the eye mixes destacaban and destacan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. destacaban runs 10 letters (CVCCVCVCVC) against destacan's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between destacaban and destacan
A purely visual mix-up. destacaban ([d̪est̪aˈkaβ̞ãn]) and destacan ([d̪esˈt̪akãn]) 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 47680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
destacaban is recorded at frequency rank #41,859, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪est̪aˈkaβ̞ãn]. destacan is at rank #5,821, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪akãn].
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 47680, this pair ranks #118,686 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of destacaban vs destacan
Shared letters: acdenst. Private to "destacaban": b. Private to "destacan": -.
"destacaban" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC · "destacan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- destacaban ← ddestacaban · desatcaban · desstacaban · destaacban · destacaabn · destacabann · destacabban · destacabna
- destacan ← ddestacan · desatcan · desstacan · destaacn · destacann · destaccan · destacna · destcaan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "destacaban" and "destacan" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "destacaban" or "destacan"?
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 "destacaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "destacan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,686 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "destacaban" and "destacan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "destacaba vs destacaban". 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 #118,686 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.