llevabavsllevanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,570
“llevaba” frequency rank
#1,515
“llevan” frequency rank
4085
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llevaba llevan
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llevar o de llevarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de llevar o de llevarse.

Where the eye mixes llevaba and llevan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
llevaba
6 ch
llevan

Look-alike desk: llevaba vs llevan

A purely visual mix-up. llevaba ([ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞a]) and llevan ([ˈʝeβ̞ãn]) 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 4085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llevaba is recorded at frequency rank #2,570, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞a]. llevan is at rank #1,515, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeβ̞ãn].

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 4085, this pair ranks #316,909 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llevaba vs llevan

Shared letters: aelv. Private to "llevaba": b. Private to "llevan": n.

"llevaba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "llevan" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llevabalelvaba · levaba · lleavba · llebaba · llevaab · llevabba · llevava · llevbaa
  • llevanlelvan · levan · lleavn · lleban · llevann · llevna · llevvan · llvean

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "llevaba" for "llevan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞a] versus [ˈʝeβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "llevaba" vs "llevan" - which ranks higher?
"llevan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,515 in our Spanish list, against #2,570 for "llevaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "llevaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llevan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #316,909 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llevaba" and "llevan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llevaba vs llevarás". 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 #316,909 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