Which to use
“preguntaban” and “preguntan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,471
- “preguntaban” frequency rank
- #4,640
- “preguntan” frequency rank
- 25111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preguntaban | preguntan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de preguntar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de preguntar o de preguntarse. |
Where the eye mixes preguntaban and preguntan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. preguntaban runs 11 letters (CCVCVCCVCVC) against preguntan's 9 (CCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between preguntaban and preguntan
A purely visual mix-up. preguntaban ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and preguntan ([pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪ãn]) 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 25111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preguntaban is recorded at frequency rank #20,471, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aβ̞ãn]. preguntan is at rank #4,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈɣ̞ũn̪t̪ãn].
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 25111, this pair ranks #237,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of preguntaban vs preguntan
Shared letters: aegnprtu. Private to "preguntaban": b. Private to "preguntan": -.
"preguntaban" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCVC · "preguntan" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- preguntaban ← perguntaban · ppreguntaban · pregguntaban · pregnutaban · pregunatban · pregunntaban · preguntaabn · preguntabann
- preguntan ← perguntan · ppreguntan · pregguntan · pregnutan · pregunatn · pregunntan · preguntann · preguntna
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "preguntaban" for "preguntan" ever safe?
Frequency check: "preguntaban" vs "preguntan" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "preguntaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preguntan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preguntaban" and "preguntan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preguntaban vs preguntarán". 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 #237,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.