encantabanvsencontrabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,714
“encantaban” frequency rank
#5,720
“encontraban” frequency rank
50434
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encantaban encontraban
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encantar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encontrar o de encontrarse.

Where the eye mixes encantaban and encontraban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. encantaban runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against encontraban's 11 (VCCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
encantaban
11 ch
encontraban

Visual trap between encantaban and encontraban

A purely visual mix-up. encantaban ([ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and encontraban ([ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞ãn]) 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 50434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encantaban is recorded at frequency rank #44,714, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. encontraban is at rank #5,720, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞ãn].

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 50434, this pair ranks #103,224 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of encantaban vs encontraban

Shared letters: abcent. Private to "encantaban": -. Private to "encontraban": or.

"encantaban" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "encontraban" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encantabanecnantaban · enacntaban · encanatban · encanntaban · encantaabn · encantabann · encantabban · encantabna
  • encontrabanecnontraban · enccontraban · encnotraban · enconntraban · enconrtaban · encontarban · encontraabn · encontrabann

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "encantaban" and "encontraban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽŋkãn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn] versus [ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "encantaban" vs "encontraban" - which ranks higher?
"encontraban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,720 in our Spanish list, against #44,714 for "encantaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "encantaban" and "encontraban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "encantaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "encontraban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #103,224 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "encantaban" and "encontraban" 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 #103,224 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