nombrabavsnombradoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,473
“nombraba” frequency rank
#4,359
“nombrado” frequency rank
49832
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nombraba nombrado
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de nombrar. Participio de nombrar.

Where the eye mixes nombraba and nombrado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
nombraba
8 ch
nombrado

Why the eye confuses nombraba with nombrado

A purely visual mix-up. nombraba ([nõmˈbɾaβ̞a]) and nombrado ([nõmˈbɾað̞o]) 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 49832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nombraba is recorded at frequency rank #45,473, classified as averb, pronounced [nõmˈbɾaβ̞a]. nombrado is at rank #4,359, tagged as averb, pronounced [nõmˈbɾað̞o].

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 49832, this pair ranks #106,605 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nombraba vs nombrado

Shared letters: abmnor. Private to "nombraba": -. Private to "nombrado": d.

"nombraba" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "nombrado" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nombrabanmobraba · nnombraba · nobmraba · nombarba · nombbraba · nombraab · nombrabba · nombrbaa
  • nombradonmobrado · nnombrado · nobmrado · nombardo · nombbrado · nombraddo · nombraod · nombrdao

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nombraba" for "nombrado" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([nõmˈbɾaβ̞a] versus [nõmˈbɾað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nombraba" vs "nombrado" - which ranks higher?
"nombrado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,359 in our Spanish list, against #45,473 for "nombraba". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "nombraba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nombrado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #106,605 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nombraba" and "nombrado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nombraba vs nombradas". 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 #106,605 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