Which to use
“intentaban” and “intentan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,453
- “intentaban” frequency rank
- #5,120
- “intentan” frequency rank
- 22573
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intentaban | intentan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) 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 intentaban and intentan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses intentaban with intentan
A purely visual mix-up. intentaban ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intentaban is recorded at frequency rank #17,453, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. 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 22573, this pair ranks #249,679 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intentaban vs intentan
Shared letters: aeint. Private to "intentaban": b. Private to "intentan": -.
"intentaban" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC · "intentan" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- intentaban ← inetntaban · inntentaban · intenatban · intenntaban · intentaabn · intentabann · intentabban · intentabna
- intentan ← inetntan · inntentan · intenatn · intenntan · intentann · intentna · intenttan · intetnan
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "intentaban" and "intentan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "intentaban" or "intentan"?
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 "intentaban" 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 #249,679 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intentaban" and "intentan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intentaban 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 #249,679 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.