Which to use
“explicaban” and “explican” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,824
- “explicaban” frequency rank
- #6,668
- “explican” frequency rank
- 47492
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | explicaban | explican |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de explicar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de explicar. |
Where the eye mixes explicaban and explican
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between explicaban and explican
A purely visual mix-up. explicaban ([ekspliˈkaβ̞ãn]) and explican ([eksˈplikãn]) 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 47492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
explicaban is recorded at frequency rank #40,824, classified as averb, pronounced [ekspliˈkaβ̞ãn]. explican is at rank #6,668, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksˈplikãn].
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 47492, this pair ranks #119,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of explicaban vs explican
Shared letters: aceilnpx. Private to "explicaban": b. Private to "explican": -.
"explicaban" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVC · "explican" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- explicaban ← epxlicaban · exlpicaban · expilcaban · explciaban · expliacban · explicaabn · explicabann · explicabban
- explican ← epxlican · exlpican · expilcan · explcian · expliacn · explicann · expliccan · explicna
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "explicaban" for "explican" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "explicaban" or "explican" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "explicaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "explican" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "explicaban" and "explican" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explicaban vs explicadas". 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 #119,751 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.