pagabavspasabanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,437
“pagaba” frequency rank
#9,014
“pasaban” frequency rank
24451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pagaba pasaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pagar o de pagarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pasar.

Where the eye mixes pagaba and pasaban

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

6 ch
pagaba
7 ch
pasaban

Look-alike desk: pagaba vs pasaban

A purely visual mix-up. pagaba ([paˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) and pasaban ([paˈsaβ̞ãn]) 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 24451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pagaba is recorded at frequency rank #15,437, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈɣ̞aβ̞a]. pasaban is at rank #9,014, tagged as averb, pronounced [paˈsaβ̞ãn].

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 24451, this pair ranks #241,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pagaba vs pasaban

Shared letters: abp. Private to "pagaba": g. Private to "pasaban": ns.

"pagaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pasaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pagabaapgaba · paagba · pagaab · pagabba · pagava · pagbaa · paggaba · pgaaba
  • pasabanapsaban · paasban · pasaabn · pasabann · pasabban · pasabna · pasavan · pasbaan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pagaba" and "pasaban" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paˈɣ̞aβ̞a] versus [paˈsaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pagaba" vs "pasaban" - which ranks higher?
"pasaban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,014 in our Spanish list, against #15,437 for "pagaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "pagaba" and "pasaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pagaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pasaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #241,119 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pagaba" and "pasaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pagaba vs paganas". 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 #241,119 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