llegabanvsllevabasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,850
“llegaban” frequency rank
#43,111
“llevabas” frequency rank
52961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llegaban llevabas
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llegar. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llevar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set llegaban and llevabas apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
llegaban
8 ch
llevabas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. llegaban ([ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) and llevabas ([ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞as]) 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 52961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llegaban is recorded at frequency rank #9,850, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]. llevabas is at rank #43,111, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞as].

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 52961, this pair ranks #90,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of llegaban vs llevabas

Shared letters: abel. Private to "llegaban": gn. Private to "llevabas": sv.

"llegaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "llevabas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llegabanlegaban · lelgaban · lleagban · llegaabn · llegabann · llegabban · llegabna · llegavan
  • llevabaslelvabas · levabas · lleavbas · llebabas · llevaabs · llevabass · llevabbas · llevabsa

Frequency comparison

llegaban#9,850
llevabas#43,111

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llegaban" and "llevabas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn] versus [ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llegaban" or "llevabas"?
"llegaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,850 in our Spanish list, against #43,111 for "llevabas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering llegaban vs llevabas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “llegaban” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list