pensabavspensadWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,221
“pensaba” frequency rank
#35,186
“pensad” frequency rank
37407
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pensaba pensad
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pensar. Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del imperativo afirmativo de pensar.

Where the eye mixes pensaba and pensad

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pensaba runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against pensad's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
pensaba
6 ch
pensad

Visual trap between pensaba and pensad

A purely visual mix-up. pensaba ([pẽnˈsaβ̞a]) and pensad ([pẽnˈsað̞]) 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 37407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pensaba is recorded at frequency rank #2,221, classified as averb, pronounced [pẽnˈsaβ̞a]. pensad is at rank #35,186, tagged as averb, pronounced [pẽnˈsað̞].

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 37407, this pair ranks #175,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pensaba vs pensad

Shared letters: aenps. Private to "pensaba": b. Private to "pensad": d.

"pensaba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "pensad" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pensaba ← epnsaba · penasba · pennsaba · pensaab · pensabba · pensava · pensbaa · penssaba
  • pensad ← epnsad · penasd · pennsad · pensadd · pensda · penssad · pesnad · pnesad

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pensaba" for "pensad" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pẽnˈsaβ̞a] versus [pẽnˈsað̞]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pensaba" vs "pensad" - which ranks higher?
"pensaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,221 in our Spanish list, against #35,186 for "pensad". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "pensaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pensad" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #175,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pensaba" and "pensad" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "penca vs pensad". 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 #175,472 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