llenabavsllevabanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,432
“llenaba” frequency rank
#6,080
“llevaban” frequency rank
34512
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llenaba llevaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llenar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llevar.

Where the eye mixes llenaba and llevaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. llenaba runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against llevaban's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
llenaba
8 ch
llevaban

Why the eye confuses llenaba with llevaban

A purely visual mix-up. llenaba ([ʝeˈnaβ̞a]) and llevaban ([ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞ãn]) 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 34512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llenaba is recorded at frequency rank #28,432, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈnaβ̞a]. llevaban is at rank #6,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞ãn].

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 34512, this pair ranks #191,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of llenaba vs llevaban

Shared letters: abeln. Private to "llenaba": -. Private to "llevaban": v.

"llenaba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "llevaban" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llenaba ← lelnaba · lenaba · lleanba · llenaab · llenabba · llenava · llenbaa · llennaba
  • llevaban ← lelvaban · levaban · lleavban · llebaban · llevaabn · llevabann · llevabban · llevabna

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llenaba" and "llevaban" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈnaβ̞a] versus [ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "llenaba" vs "llevaban" - which ranks higher?
"llevaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,080 in our Spanish list, against #28,432 for "llenaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "llenaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llevaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #191,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llenaba" and "llevaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llenaba 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 #191,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list