Which to use
“llamaban” and “llegaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,144
- “llamaban” frequency rank
- #9,850
- “llegaban” frequency rank
- 18994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | llamaban | llegaban |
|---|---|---|
| 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 imperfecto de indicativo de llegar. |
Where the eye mixes llamaban and llegaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. llamaban and llegaban follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: llamaban vs llegaban
A purely visual mix-up. llamaban ([ʝaˈmaβ̞ãn]) and llegaban ([ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) 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 18994, 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]. llegaban is at rank #9,850, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn].
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 18994, this pair ranks #265,612 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of llamaban vs llegaban
Shared letters: abln. Private to "llamaban": m. Private to "llegaban": eg.
"llamaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC · "llegaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "llamaban" and "llegaban" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "llamaban" or "llegaban" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "llamaban" and "llegaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "llamaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "llegaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,612 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "llamaban" and "llegaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llegaban vs llegasen". 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 #265,612 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.