Which to use
“encontrábamos” and “encontramos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,726
- “encontrábamos” frequency rank
- #2,248
- “encontramos” frequency rank
- 41974
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encontrábamos | encontramos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de encontrar o de encontrarse. | Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de indicativo de encontrar o de encontrarse. |
Where the eye mixes encontrábamos and encontramos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. encontrábamos runs 13 letters (VCCVCCCVCVCVC) against encontramos's 11 (VCCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: encontrábamos vs encontramos
A purely visual mix-up. encontrábamos ([ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞amos]) and encontramos ([ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾamos]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encontrábamos is recorded at frequency rank #39,726, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞amos]. encontramos is at rank #2,248, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkõn̪ˈt̪ɾamos].
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 41974, this pair ranks #150,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encontrábamos vs encontramos
Shared letters: acemnorst. Private to "encontrábamos": bá. Private to "encontramos": -.
"encontrábamos" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVCVC · "encontramos" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- encontramos ← ecnontramos · enccontramos · encnotramos · enconntramos · enconrtamos · encontarmos · encontrammos · encontramoss
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "encontrábamos" and "encontramos" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "encontrábamos" or "encontramos" show up more?
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 "encontrábamos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encontramos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encontrábamos" and "encontramos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encontrábamos vs encontraríamos". 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 #150,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.