Which to use
“pasaban” and “pasan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,014
- “pasaban” frequency rank
- #1,692
- “pasan” frequency rank
- 10706
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pasaban | pasan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pasar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pasar. |
Where the eye mixes pasaban and pasan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pasaban with pasan
A purely visual mix-up. pasaban ([paˈsaβ̞ãn]) and pasan ([ˈpasãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pasaban is recorded at frequency rank #9,014, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈsaβ̞ãn]. pasan is at rank #1,692, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpasãn].
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 10706, this pair ranks #297,669 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pasaban vs pasan
Shared letters: anps. Private to "pasaban": b. Private to "pasan": -.
"pasaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "pasan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pasaban" for "pasan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pasaban" or "pasan" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "pasaban" and "pasan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pasaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pasan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,669 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pasaban" and "pasan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pasaban 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 #297,669 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.