Which to use
“pensaban” and “pensabas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,549
- “pensaban” frequency rank
- #18,343
- “pensabas” frequency rank
- 28892
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pensaban | pensabas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pensar. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pensar. |
Where the eye mixes pensaban and pensabas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. pensaban and pensabas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses pensaban with pensabas
A purely visual mix-up. pensaban ([pẽnˈsaβ̞ãn]) and pensabas ([pẽnˈsaβ̞as]) 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 - n in “pensaban” becomes s in “pensabas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pensaban is recorded at frequency rank #10,549, classified as averb, pronounced [pẽnˈsaβ̞ãn]. pensabas is at rank #18,343, tagged as averb, pronounced [pẽnˈsaβ̞as].
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 28892, this pair ranks #219,700 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pensaban vs pensabas
Shared letters: abenps. Private to "pensaban": -. Private to "pensabas": -.
"pensaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "pensabas" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pensaban" and "pensabas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "pensaban" or "pensabas"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pensaban" and "pensabas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pensaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pensabas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #219,700 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pensaban" and "pensabas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pensaban vs pensarían". 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 #219,700 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.