Which to use
“llegaba” and “llenaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,981
- “llegaba” frequency rank
- #37,695
- “llenaban” frequency rank
- 43676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | llegaba | llenaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llegar o de llegarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llenar. |
Where the eye mixes llegaba and llenaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. llegaba runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against llenaban's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between llegaba and llenaban
A purely visual mix-up. llegaba ([ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) and llenaban ([ʝeˈnaβ̞ãn]) 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 43676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
llegaba is recorded at frequency rank #5,981, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞a]. llenaban is at rank #37,695, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈnaβ̞ãn].
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 43676, this pair ranks #141,323 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of llegaba vs llenaban
Shared letters: abel. Private to "llegaba": g. Private to "llenaban": n.
"llegaba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "llenaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "llegaba" for "llenaban" ever safe?
Which is more common, "llegaba" or "llenaban"?
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 "llegaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "llenaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #141,323 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "llegaba" and "llenaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llenaban vs llevabas". 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 #141,323 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.