Which to use
“guardaba” and “guardan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,122
- “guardaba” frequency rank
- #11,591
- “guardan” frequency rank
- 30713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | guardaba | guardan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de guardar o de guardarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de guardar o de guardarse. |
Where the eye mixes guardaba and guardan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. guardaba runs 8 letters (CVVCCVCV) against guardan's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses guardaba with guardan
A purely visual mix-up. guardaba ([gwaɾˈð̞aβ̞a]) and guardan ([ˈgwaɾð̞ãn]) 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 30713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
guardaba is recorded at frequency rank #19,122, classified as averb, pronounced [gwaɾˈð̞aβ̞a]. guardan is at rank #11,591, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈgwaɾð̞ãn].
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 30713, this pair ranks #210,666 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of guardaba vs guardan
Shared letters: adgru. Private to "guardaba": b. Private to "guardan": n.
"guardaba" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV · "guardan" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "guardaba" and "guardan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "guardaba" vs "guardan" - which ranks higher?
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 "guardaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "guardan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #210,666 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "guardaba" and "guardan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "guardaba vs guardará". 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 #210,666 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.