indicabavsindicabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,617
“indicaba” frequency rank
#28,409
“indicaban” frequency rank
45026
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature indicaba indicaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de indicar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de indicar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set indicaba and indicaban apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
indicaba
9 ch
indicaban

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. indicaba ([ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞a]) and indicaban ([ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “indicaba” sits inside “indicaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

indicaba is recorded at frequency rank #16,617, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞a]. indicaban is at rank #28,409, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞ãn].

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 45026, this pair ranks #133,781 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of indicaba vs indicaban

Shared letters: abcdin. Private to "indicaba": -. Private to "indicaban": -.

"indicaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "indicaban" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indicabaidnicaba · indciaba · inddicaba · indiacba · indicaab · indicabba · indicava · indicbaa
  • indicabanidnicaban · indciaban · inddicaban · indiacban · indicaabn · indicabann · indicabban · indicabna

Frequency comparison

indicaba#16,617
indicaban#28,409

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "indicaba" and "indicaban" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞a] versus [ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "indicaba" or "indicaban"?
"indicaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,617 in our Spanish list, against #28,409 for "indicaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering indicaba vs indicaban

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “indicaba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list