enfrentabavsenfrentabanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#24,491
“enfrentaba” frequency rank
#34,090
“enfrentaban” frequency rank
58581
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enfrentaba enfrentaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de enfrentar o de enfrentarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de enfrentar.

Where the eye mixes enfrentaba and enfrentaban

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

10 ch
enfrentaba
11 ch
enfrentaban

Visual trap between enfrentaba and enfrentaban

A purely visual mix-up. enfrentaba ([ẽɱfɾẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and enfrentaban ([ẽɱfɾẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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) - “enfrentaba” sits inside “enfrentaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enfrentaba is recorded at frequency rank #24,491, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽɱfɾẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. enfrentaban is at rank #34,090, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽɱfɾẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn].

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 58581, this pair ranks #65,932 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of enfrentaba vs enfrentaban

Shared letters: abefnrt. Private to "enfrentaba": -. Private to "enfrentaban": -.

"enfrentaba" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCV  ·  "enfrentaban" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enfrentabaefnrentaba · enferntaba · enffrentaba · enfrenatba · enfrenntaba · enfrentaab · enfrentabba · enfrentava
  • enfrentabanefnrentaban · enferntaban · enffrentaban · enfrenatban · enfrenntaban · enfrentaabn · enfrentabann · enfrentabban

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "enfrentaba" and "enfrentaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ẽɱfɾẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [ẽɱfɾẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "enfrentaba" vs "enfrentaban" - which ranks higher?
"enfrentaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,491 in our Spanish list, against #34,090 for "enfrentaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "enfrentaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enfrentaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #65,932 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enfrentaba" and "enfrentaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enfrentaban vs enfrentada". 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 #65,932 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