Which to use
“enseñaban” and “enseñan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,730
- “enseñaban” frequency rank
- #8,946
- “enseñan” frequency rank
- 48676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enseñaban | enseñan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de enseñar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de enseñar o de enseñarse. |
Where the eye mixes enseñaban and enseñan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. enseñaban runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCVC) against enseñan's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between enseñaban and enseñan
A purely visual mix-up. enseñaban ([ẽnseˈɲaβ̞ãn]) and enseñan ([ẽnˈseɲãn]) 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 48676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enseñaban is recorded at frequency rank #39,730, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽnseˈɲaβ̞ãn]. enseñan is at rank #8,946, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽnˈseɲãn].
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 48676, this pair ranks #113,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enseñaban vs enseñan
Shared letters: aensñ. Private to "enseñaban": b. Private to "enseñan": -.
"enseñaban" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "enseñan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enseñaban" for "enseñan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "enseñaban" or "enseñan" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "enseñaban" and "enseñan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "enseñaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enseñan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #113,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enseñaban" and "enseñan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enseñaban vs enseñará". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #113,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.