marchabanvsmarchanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#37,713
“marchaban” frequency rank
#15,418
“marchan” frequency rank
53131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature marchaban marchan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de marchar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de marchar o de marcharse.

Where the eye mixes marchaban and marchan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. marchaban runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against marchan's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
marchaban
7 ch
marchan

Why the eye confuses marchaban with marchan

A purely visual mix-up. marchaban ([maɾˈt͡ʃaβ̞ãn]) and marchan ([ˈmaɾt͡ʃãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

marchaban is recorded at frequency rank #37,713, classified as averb, pronounced [maɾˈt͡ʃaβ̞ãn]. marchan is at rank #15,418, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmaɾt͡ʃãn].

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 53131, this pair ranks #89,377 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of marchaban vs marchan

Shared letters: achmnr. Private to "marchaban": b. Private to "marchan": -.

"marchaban" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "marchan" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • marchaban ← amrchaban · macrhaban · marcahban · marcchaban · marchaabn · marchabann · marchabban · marchabna
  • marchan ← amrchan · macrhan · marcahn · marcchan · marchann · marchhan · marchna · marhcan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "marchaban" and "marchan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([maɾˈt͡ʃaβ̞ãn] versus [ˈmaɾt͡ʃãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "marchaban" or "marchan"?
"marchan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,418 in our Spanish list, against #37,713 for "marchaban". 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 "marchaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "marchan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #89,377 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "marchaban" and "marchan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "marchaba vs marchaban". 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 #89,377 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