echabavsecharWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,599
“echaba” frequency rank
#2,603
“echar” frequency rank
18202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature echaba echar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de echar o de echarse. Impulsar o empujar algo hacia algún lugar.

Where the eye mixes echaba and echar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
echaba
5 ch
echar

Why the eye confuses echaba with echar

A purely visual mix-up. echaba ([eˈt͡ʃaβ̞a]) and echar ([eˈt͡ʃaɾ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

echaba is recorded at frequency rank #15,599, classified as averb, pronounced [eˈt͡ʃaβ̞a]. echar is at rank #2,603, tagged as averb, pronounced [eˈt͡ʃaɾ].

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 18202, this pair ranks #268,896 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of echaba vs echar

Shared letters: aceh. Private to "echaba": b. Private to "echar": r.

"echaba" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "echar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • echabacehaba · ecahba · ecchaba · echaab · echabba · echava · echbaa · echhaba
  • echarcehar · ecahr · ecchar · echarr · echhar · echra · ehcar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "echaba" and "echar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([eˈt͡ʃaβ̞a] versus [eˈt͡ʃaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "echaba" vs "echar" - which ranks higher?
"echar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,603 in our Spanish list, against #15,599 for "echaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "echaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "echar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #268,896 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "echaba" and "echar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "echaba vs echarán". 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 #268,896 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