Which to use
“encantaba” and “encantaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,604
- “encantaba” frequency rank
- #44,714
- “encantaban” frequency rank
- 60318
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encantaba | encantaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encantar o de encantarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encantar. |
Where the eye mixes encantaba and encantaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. encantaba runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against encantaban's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between encantaba and encantaban
A purely visual mix-up. encantaba ([ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and encantaban ([ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “encantaba” sits inside “encantaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encantaba is recorded at frequency rank #15,604, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. encantaban is at rank #44,714, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn].
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 60318, this pair ranks #59,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of encantaba vs encantaban
Shared letters: abcent. Private to "encantaba": -. Private to "encantaban": -.
"encantaba" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "encantaban" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- encantaba ← ecnantaba · enacntaba · encanatba · encanntaba · encantaab · encantabba · encantava · encantbaa
- encantaban ← ecnantaban · enacntaban · encanatban · encanntaban · encantaabn · encantabann · encantabban · encantabna
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "encantaba" and "encantaban" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "encantaba" or "encantaban" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "encantaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encantaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encantaba" and "encantaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encantaban vs encargaban". 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 #59,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.