pasabavspasajeTell them apart

Quick tell: pasaba is a verb, pasaje is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pasaba” is a verb and “pasaje” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,276
“pasaba” frequency rank
#5,026
“pasaje” frequency rank
8302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pasaba pasaje
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pasar. Acción y efecto de pasar

Where the eye mixes pasaba and pasaje

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
pasaba
6 ch
pasaje

Look-alike desk: pasaba vs pasaje

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pasaba is [paˈsaβ̞a] while pasaje is [paˈsaxe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pasaba is recorded at frequency rank #3,276, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈsaβ̞a]. pasaje is at rank #5,026, tagged as anoun, pronounced [paˈsaxe].

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 8302, this pair ranks #305,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pasaba vs pasaje

Shared letters: aps. Private to "pasaba": b. Private to "pasaje": ej.

"pasaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pasaje" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pasabaapsaba · paasba · pasaab · pasabba · pasava · pasbaa · passaba · ppasaba
  • pasajeapsaje · paasje · pasaej · pasajje · pasjae · passaje · ppasaje · psaaje

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pasaba" and "pasaje" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pasaba" is a verb and "pasaje" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pasaba" or "pasaje"?
"pasaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,276 in our Spanish list, against #5,026 for "pasaje". 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 "pasaba" and "pasaje" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pasaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pasaje" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #305,409 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pasaba" and "pasaje" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pasaba vs pisada". 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 #305,409 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