Which to use
“indicaba” and “indican” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,617
- “indicaba” frequency rank
- #4,611
- “indican” frequency rank
- 21228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | indicaba | indican |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de indicar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de indicar. |
Where the eye mixes indicaba and indican
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. indicaba runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against indican's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: indicaba vs indican
A purely visual mix-up. indicaba ([ĩn̪d̪iˈkaβ̞a]) and indican ([ĩn̪ˈd̪ikãn]) 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 21228, 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]. indican is at rank #4,611, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪ˈd̪ikãn].
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 21228, this pair ranks #255,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of indicaba vs indican
Shared letters: acdin. Private to "indicaba": b. Private to "indican": -.
"indicaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "indican" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "indicaba" and "indican" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "indicaba" or "indican"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "indicaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "indican" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "indicaba" and "indican" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indicaba vs indicaría". 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 #255,845 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.