Which to use
“encabeza” and “encabezaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,683
- “encabeza” frequency rank
- #41,327
- “encabezaba” frequency rank
- 55010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encabeza | encabezaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encabezar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encabezar. |
Where the eye mixes encabeza and encabezaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. encabeza runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against encabezaba's 10 (VCCVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: encabeza vs encabezaba
A purely visual mix-up. encabeza ([ẽŋkaˈβ̞esa]) and encabezaba ([ẽŋkaβ̞eˈsaβ̞a]) 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 extra letter(s) - “encabeza” sits inside “encabezaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encabeza is recorded at frequency rank #13,683, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaˈβ̞esa]. encabezaba is at rank #41,327, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaβ̞eˈsaβ̞a].
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 55010, this pair ranks #80,799 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of encabeza vs encabezaba
Shared letters: abcenz. Private to "encabeza": -. Private to "encabezaba": -.
"encabeza" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "encabezaba" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- encabeza ← ecnabeza · enacbeza · encabbeza · encabeaz · encabezza · encabzea · encaebza · encaveza
- encabezaba ← ecnabezaba · enacbezaba · encabbezaba · encabeazba · encabezaab · encabezabba · encabezbaa · encabezzaba
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "encabeza" for "encabezaba" ever safe?
Which is more common, "encabeza" or "encabezaba"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "encabeza" and "encabezaba" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "encabeza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encabezaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #80,799 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encabeza" and "encabezaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encabezaba vs encabezadas". 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 #80,799 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.