encajabavsencajarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#40,280
“encajaba” frequency rank
#15,603
“encajar” frequency rank
55883
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encajaba encajar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encajar o de encajarse. Meter una cosa dentro de otra ajustadamente.

Where the eye mixes encajaba and encajar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. encajaba runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against encajar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
encajaba
7 ch
encajar

Why the eye confuses encajaba with encajar

A purely visual mix-up. encajaba ([ẽŋkaˈxaβ̞a]) and encajar ([ẽŋkaˈxaɾ]) 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 55883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encajaba is recorded at frequency rank #40,280, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaˈxaβ̞a]. encajar is at rank #15,603, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaˈxaɾ].

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 55883, this pair ranks #76,930 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of encajaba vs encajar

Shared letters: acejn. Private to "encajaba": b. Private to "encajar": r.

"encajaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "encajar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encajabaecnajaba · enacjaba · encaajba · encajaab · encajabba · encajava · encajbaa · encajjaba
  • encajarecnajar · enacjar · encaajr · encajarr · encajjar · encajra · enccajar · encjaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "encajaba" for "encajar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ẽŋkaˈxaβ̞a] versus [ẽŋkaˈxaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "encajaba" vs "encajar" - which ranks higher?
"encajar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,603 in our Spanish list, against #40,280 for "encajaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "encajaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "encajar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #76,930 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "encajaba" and "encajar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encajaba vs escapaba". 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 #76,930 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