intentabavsintentanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,824
“intentaba” frequency rank
#5,120
“intentan” frequency rank
13944
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intentaba intentan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de intentar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de intentar.

Where the eye mixes intentaba and intentan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
intentaba
8 ch
intentan

Visual trap between intentaba and intentan

A purely visual mix-up. intentaba ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and intentan ([ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪ãn]) 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 13944, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intentaba is recorded at frequency rank #8,824, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]. intentan is at rank #5,120, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪ãn].

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 13944, this pair ranks #285,978 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intentaba vs intentan

Shared letters: aeint. Private to "intentaba": b. Private to "intentan": -.

"intentaba" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV  ·  "intentan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intentabainetntaba · inntentaba · intenatba · intenntaba · intentaab · intentabba · intentava · intentbaa
  • intentaninetntan · inntentan · intenatn · intenntan · intentann · intentna · intenttan · intetnan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intentaba" and "intentan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "intentaba" vs "intentan" - which ranks higher?
"intentan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,120 in our Spanish list, against #8,824 for "intentaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "intentaba" and "intentan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "intentaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "intentan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #285,978 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intentaba" and "intentan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intentan vs inventen". 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 #285,978 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