Which to use
“faltaban” and “faltan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,337
- “faltaban” frequency rank
- #3,323
- “faltan” frequency rank
- 19660
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | faltaban | faltan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de faltar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de faltar. |
Where the eye mixes faltaban and faltan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. faltaban runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against faltan's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses faltaban with faltan
A purely visual mix-up. faltaban ([fal̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and faltan ([ˈfal̪t̪ãn]) 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 19660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
faltaban is recorded at frequency rank #16,337, classified as averb, pronounced [fal̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. faltan is at rank #3,323, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfal̪t̪ãn].
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 19660, this pair ranks #262,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of faltaban vs faltan
Shared letters: aflnt. Private to "faltaban": b. Private to "faltan": -.
"faltaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "faltan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "faltaban" and "faltan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "faltaban" or "faltan" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "faltaban" and "faltan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "faltaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "faltan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "faltaban" and "faltan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fallaba vs faltaban". 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 #262,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.