fallabavsfaltabanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#45,323
“fallaba” frequency rank
#16,337
“faltaban” frequency rank
61660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fallaba faltaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de fallar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de faltar.

Where the eye mixes fallaba and faltaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fallaba runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against faltaban's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
fallaba
8 ch
faltaban

Why the eye confuses fallaba with faltaban

A purely visual mix-up. fallaba ([faˈʝaβ̞a]) and faltaban ([fal̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 61660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fallaba is recorded at frequency rank #45,323, classified as averb, pronounced [faˈʝaβ̞a]. faltaban is at rank #16,337, tagged as averb, pronounced [fal̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn].

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 61660, this pair ranks #54,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fallaba vs faltaban

Shared letters: abfl. Private to "fallaba": -. Private to "faltaban": nt.

"fallaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "faltaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fallaba ← afllaba · falaba · falalba · fallaab · fallabba · fallava · fallbaa · ffallaba
  • faltaban ← afltaban · falatban · falltaban · faltaabn · faltabann · faltabban · faltabna · faltavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fallaba" and "faltaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([faˈʝaβ̞a] versus [fal̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fallaba" vs "faltaban" - which ranks higher?
"faltaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,337 in our Spanish list, against #45,323 for "fallaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "fallaba" and "faltaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fallaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "faltaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #54,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fallaba" and "faltaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fallaba vs follada". 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 #54,682 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list