operabavsoperabanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#29,324
“operaba” frequency rank
#36,717
“operaban” frequency rank
66041
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature operaba operaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de operar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de operar.

Where the eye mixes operaba and operaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
operaba
8 ch
operaban

Look-alike desk: operaba vs operaban

A purely visual mix-up. operaba ([opeˈɾaβ̞a]) and operaban ([opeˈɾaβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “operaba” sits inside “operaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

operaba is recorded at frequency rank #29,324, classified as averb, pronounced [opeˈɾaβ̞a]. operaban is at rank #36,717, tagged as averb, pronounced [opeˈɾaβ̞ãn].

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 66041, this pair ranks #40,912 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of operaba vs operaban

Shared letters: abeopr. Private to "operaba": -. Private to "operaban": n.

"operaba" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "operaban" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • operabaoepraba · opearba · operaab · operabba · operava · operbaa · operraba · opperaba
  • operabanoepraban · opearban · operaabn · operabann · operabban · operabna · operavan · operbaan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "operaba" and "operaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([opeˈɾaβ̞a] versus [opeˈɾaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "operaba" vs "operaban" - which ranks higher?
"operaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,324 in our Spanish list, against #36,717 for "operaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "operaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "operaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #40,912 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "operaba" and "operaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "operaban vs operadas". 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 #40,912 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