ganabanvsgrabanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#29,667
“ganaban” frequency rank
#21,691
“graban” frequency rank
51358
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ganaban graban
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de ganar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar.

Where the eye mixes ganaban and graban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ganaban runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against graban's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
ganaban
6 ch
graban

Why the eye confuses ganaban with graban

A purely visual mix-up. ganaban ([gaˈnaβ̞ãn]) and graban ([ˈgɾaβ̞ãn]) 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 51358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ganaban is recorded at frequency rank #29,667, classified as averb, pronounced [gaˈnaβ̞ãn]. graban is at rank #21,691, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞ãn].

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 51358, this pair ranks #98,285 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ganaban vs graban

Shared letters: abgn. Private to "ganaban": -. Private to "graban": r.

"ganaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "graban" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ganaban ← agnaban · gaanban · ganaabn · ganabann · ganabban · ganabna · ganavan · ganbaan
  • graban ← garban · ggraban · graabn · grabann · grabban · grabna · gravan · grbaan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ganaban" and "graban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([gaˈnaβ̞ãn] versus [ˈgɾaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ganaban" or "graban"?
"graban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,691 in our Spanish list, against #29,667 for "ganaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "ganaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "graban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #98,285 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ganaban" and "graban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ganaban vs gozaban". 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 #98,285 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