enseñabavsenseñasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: enseñaba is a verb, enseñas is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“enseñaba” is a verb and “enseñas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,018
“enseñaba” frequency rank
#25,623
“enseñas” frequency rank
45641
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enseñaba enseñas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de enseñar o de enseñarse. Forma del plural de enseña.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enseñaba and enseñas apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
enseñaba
7 ch
enseñas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enseñaba is [ẽnseˈɲaβ̞a] while enseñas is [ẽnˈseɲas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45641, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enseñaba is recorded at frequency rank #20,018, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽnseˈɲaβ̞a]. enseñas is at rank #25,623, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ẽnˈseɲas].

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 45641, this pair ranks #130,272 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enseñaba vs enseñas

Shared letters: aensñ. Private to "enseñaba": b. Private to "enseñas": -.

"enseñaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "enseñas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

enseñaba#20,018
enseñas#25,623

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enseñaba" and "enseñas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "enseñaba" is a verb and "enseñas" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "enseñaba" or "enseñas"?
"enseñaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,018 in our Spanish list, against #25,623 for "enseñas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enseñaba vs enseñas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “enseñaba”; for a noun, it's “enseñas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enseñaba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list