intentabavsintentarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,824
“intentaba” frequency rank
#1,820
“intentar” frequency rank
10644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intentaba intentar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de intentar. Prepararse para hacer algo, tomar las medidas necesarias y hacer el esfuerzo para conseguirlo.

Where the eye mixes intentaba and intentar

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

9 ch
intentaba
8 ch
intentar

Look-alike desk: intentaba vs intentar

A purely visual mix-up. intentaba ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and intentar ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) 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 10644, 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]. intentar is at rank #1,820, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ].

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 10644, this pair ranks #297,902 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intentaba vs intentar

Shared letters: aeint. Private to "intentaba": b. Private to "intentar": r.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intentabainetntaba · inntentaba · intenatba · intenntaba · intentaab · intentabba · intentava · intentbaa
  • intentarinetntar · inntentar · intenatr · intenntar · intentarr · intentra · intenttar · intetnar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "intentaba" for "intentar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "intentaba" or "intentar"?
"intentar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,820 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "intentaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "intentar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,902 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intentaba" and "intentar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intentaba vs intentaran". 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 #297,902 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