estabanvsestaríanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#482
“estaban” frequency rank
#6,402
“estarían” frequency rank
6884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estaban estarían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de estar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del condicional de estar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
estaban
8 ch
estarían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. estaban ([esˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and estarían ([est̪aˈɾiãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6884, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estaban is recorded at frequency rank #482, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. estarían is at rank #6,402, tagged as averb, pronounced [est̪aˈɾiãn].

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 6884, this pair ranks #309,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of estaban vs estarían

Shared letters: aenst. Private to "estaban": b. Private to "estarían": .

"estaban" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "estarían" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estabanesatban · esstaban · estaabn · estabann · estabban · estabna · estavan · estbaan

Frequency comparison

estaban#482
estarían#6,402

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estaban" and "estarían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([esˈt̪aβ̞ãn] versus [est̪aˈɾiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "estaban" or "estarían"?
"estaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #482 in our Spanish list, against #6,402 for "estarían". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering estaban vs estarían

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list