Which to use
“estaban” is a verb and “estable” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #482
- “estaban” frequency rank
- #4,160
- “estable” frequency rank
- 4642
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | estaban | estable |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de estar. | Capacidad de permanecer constante o que se mantiene firme y sin cambios. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set estaban and estable apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
estaban and estable form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
estaban is recorded at frequency rank #482, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. estable is at rank #4,160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [esˈt̪aβ̞le].
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 4642, this pair ranks #315,595 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "estaban" and "estable" be used interchangeably?
Remembering estaban vs estable
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “estaban”; for an adjective, it's “estable”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “estaban” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable