Which to use
“pesaba” is a verb and “pésame” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,106
- “pesaba” frequency rank
- #20,484
- “pésame” frequency rank
- 41590
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pesaba | pésame |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de pesar. | Expresión con que se manifiesta el sentimiento de pena o aflicción por el fallecimiento de una persona. El pésame se da a los familiares más cercanos del fallecido, muy en particular al cónyuge, hermanos, padres e hijos. |
Where the eye mixes pesaba and pésame
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pesaba and pésame follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses pesaba with pésame
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pesaba is [peˈsaβ̞a] while pésame is [ˈpesame]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41590, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pesaba is recorded at frequency rank #21,106, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈsaβ̞a]. pésame is at rank #20,484, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpesame].
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 41590, this pair ranks #152,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pesaba vs pésame
Shared letters: aeps. Private to "pesaba": b. Private to "pésame": mé.
"pesaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "pésame" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pesaba ← epsaba · peasba · pesaab · pesabba · pesava · pesbaa · pessaba · ppesaba
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pesaba" and "pésame" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pesaba" or "pésame" show up more?
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 "pesaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pésame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pesaba" and "pésame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pesaba 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 #152,854 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.