Which to use
“preocupaban” and “preocuparon” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,937
- “preocupaban” frequency rank
- #43,783
- “preocuparon” frequency rank
- 88720
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preocupaban | preocuparon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de preocupar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de preocupar o de preocuparse. |
Where the eye mixes preocupaban and preocuparon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. preocupaban and preocuparon follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between preocupaban and preocuparon
A purely visual mix-up. preocupaban ([pɾeokuˈpaβ̞ãn]) and preocuparon ([pɾeokuˈpaɾõn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preocupaban is recorded at frequency rank #44,937, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeokuˈpaβ̞ãn]. preocuparon is at rank #43,783, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeokuˈpaɾõn].
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 88720, this pair ranks #3,580 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of preocupaban vs preocuparon
Shared letters: acenopru. Private to "preocupaban": b. Private to "preocuparon": -.
"preocupaban" · 11 letters · shape CCVVCVCVCVC · "preocuparon" · 11 letters · shape CCVVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- preocupaban ← perocupaban · ppreocupaban · precoupaban · preoccupaban · preocpuaban · preocuapban · preocupaabn · preocupabann
- preocuparon ← perocuparon · ppreocuparon · precouparon · preoccuparon · preocpuaron · preocuapron · preocupaorn · preocuparno
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "preocupaban" and "preocuparon" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "preocupaban" or "preocuparon"?
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 "preocupaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preocuparon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,580 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preocupaban" and "preocuparon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preocuparía vs preocuparon". 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 #3,580 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.