Which to use
“llamaban” and “llamaron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,144
- “llamaban” frequency rank
- #5,529
- “llamaron” frequency rank
- 14673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | llamaban | llamaron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llamar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de llamar o de llamarse. |
Where the eye mixes llamaban and llamaron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. llamaban and llamaron follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses llamaban with llamaron
A purely visual mix-up. llamaban ([ʝaˈmaβ̞ãn]) and llamaron ([ʝaˈmaɾõn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
llamaban is recorded at frequency rank #9,144, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝaˈmaβ̞ãn]. llamaron is at rank #5,529, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝaˈmaɾõn].
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 14673, this pair ranks #283,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of llamaban vs llamaron
Shared letters: almn. Private to "llamaban": b. Private to "llamaron": or.
"llamaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC · "llamaron" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "llamaban" for "llamaron" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "llamaban" or "llamaron" show up more?
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 "llamaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "llamaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #283,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "llamaban" and "llamaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lavaron vs llamaron". 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 #283,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.