Which to use
“gobernaba” is a verb and “gobernada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,289
- “gobernaba” frequency rank
- #22,382
- “gobernada” frequency rank
- 47671
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gobernaba | gobernada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de gobernar o de gobernarse. | Forma del femenino de gobernado, participio de gobernar. |
Where the eye mixes gobernaba and gobernada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gobernaba and gobernada follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: gobernaba vs gobernada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gobernaba is [goβ̞eɾˈnaβ̞a] while gobernada is [goβ̞eɾˈnað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “gobernaba” becomes d in “gobernada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gobernaba is recorded at frequency rank #25,289, classified as averb, pronounced [goβ̞eɾˈnaβ̞a]. gobernada is at rank #22,382, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [goβ̞eɾˈnað̞a].
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 47671, this pair ranks #118,729 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gobernaba vs gobernada
Shared letters: abegnor. Private to "gobernaba": -. Private to "gobernada": d.
"gobernaba" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "gobernada" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gobernaba" and "gobernada" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "gobernaba" or "gobernada" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gobernaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gobernada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,729 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gobernaba" and "gobernada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gobernaba vs gobernará". 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 #118,729 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.