pasabavspasaríaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,276
“pasaba” frequency rank
#5,766
“pasaría” frequency rank
9042
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pasaba pasaría
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pasar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del condicional de pasar.

Where the eye mixes pasaba and pasaría

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

6 ch
pasaba
7 ch
pasaría

Look-alike desk: pasaba vs pasaría

A purely visual mix-up. pasaba ([paˈsaβ̞a]) and pasaría ([pasaˈɾia]) 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 9042, 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]. pasaría is at rank #5,766, tagged as averb, pronounced [pasaˈɾia].

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 9042, this pair ranks #303,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pasaba vs pasaría

Shared letters: aps. Private to "pasaba": b. Private to "pasaría": .

"pasaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pasaría" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pasabaapsaba · paasba · pasaab · pasabba · pasava · pasbaa · passaba · ppasaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pasaba" for "pasaría" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([paˈsaβ̞a] versus [pasaˈɾia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pasaba" or "pasaría"?
"pasaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,276 in our Spanish list, against #5,766 for "pasaría". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "pasaba" and "pasaría" 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 "pasaría" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #303,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pasaba" and "pasaría" 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 #303,144 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