fumabavsfumanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,089
“fumaba” frequency rank
#24,160
“fuman” frequency rank
54249
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fumaba fuman
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de fumar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de fumar.

Where the eye mixes fumaba and fuman

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fumaba runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against fuman's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
fumaba
5 ch
fuman

Visual trap between fumaba and fuman

A purely visual mix-up. fumaba ([fuˈmaβ̞a]) and fuman ([ˈfumãn]) 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 54249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fumaba is recorded at frequency rank #30,089, classified as averb, pronounced [fuˈmaβ̞a]. fuman is at rank #24,160, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfumãn].

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 54249, this pair ranks #84,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fumaba vs fuman

Shared letters: afmu. Private to "fumaba": b. Private to "fuman": n.

"fumaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "fuman" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fumaba ← ffumaba · fmuaba · fuamba · fumaab · fumabba · fumava · fumbaa · fummaba
  • fuman ← ffuman · fmuan · fuamn · fumann · fumman · fumna · ufman

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fumaba" for "fuman" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fuˈmaβ̞a] versus [ˈfumãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fumaba" vs "fuman" - which ranks higher?
"fuman" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,160 in our Spanish list, against #30,089 for "fumaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fumaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fuman" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #84,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fumaba" and "fuman" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fijaba vs fumaba". 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 #84,161 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