Which to use
“pagaban” and “pegaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,925
- “pagaban” frequency rank
- #43,168
- “pegaban” frequency rank
- 62093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pagaban | pegaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pagar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pegar. |
Where the eye mixes pagaban and pegaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. pagaban and pegaban follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses pagaban with pegaban
A purely visual mix-up. pagaban ([paˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) and pegaban ([peˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]) 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 a single letter - a in “pagaban” becomes e in “pegaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pagaban is recorded at frequency rank #18,925, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn]. pegaban is at rank #43,168, tagged as averb, pronounced [peˈɣ̞aβ̞ãn].
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 62093, this pair ranks #53,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pagaban vs pegaban
Shared letters: abgnp. Private to "pagaban": -. Private to "pegaban": e.
"pagaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "pegaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pagaban" and "pegaban" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pagaban" vs "pegaban" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pagaban" and "pegaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pagaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pegaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pagaban" and "pegaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paraban vs pegaban". 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 #53,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.