Which to use
“pensabas” is a verb and “pesadas” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,343
- “pensabas” frequency rank
- #13,114
- “pesadas” frequency rank
- 31457
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pensabas | pesadas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pensar. | Forma del femenino plural de pesado, participio de pesar. |
Where the eye mixes pensabas and pesadas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. pensabas runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against pesadas's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pensabas and pesadas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pensabas is [pẽnˈsaβ̞as] while pesadas is [peˈsað̞as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pensabas is recorded at frequency rank #18,343, classified as averb, pronounced [pẽnˈsaβ̞as]. pesadas is at rank #13,114, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [peˈsað̞as].
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 31457, this pair ranks #206,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pensabas vs pesadas
Shared letters: aeps. Private to "pensabas": bn. Private to "pesadas": d.
"pensabas" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "pesadas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pensabas" for "pesadas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pensabas" vs "pesadas" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pensabas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pesadas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pensabas" and "pesadas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peladas vs pesadas". 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 #206,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.