Which to use
“publicaba” and “publicaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,784
- “publicaba” frequency rank
- #39,407
- “publicaban” frequency rank
- 60191
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | publicaba | publicaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de publicar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de publicar. |
Where the eye mixes publicaba and publicaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. publicaba runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against publicaban's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: publicaba vs publicaban
A purely visual mix-up. publicaba ([puβ̞liˈkaβ̞a]) and publicaban ([puβ̞liˈkaβ̞ãn]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “publicaba” sits inside “publicaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
publicaba is recorded at frequency rank #20,784, classified as averb, pronounced [puβ̞liˈkaβ̞a]. publicaban is at rank #39,407, tagged as averb, pronounced [puβ̞liˈkaβ̞ãn].
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 60191, this pair ranks #59,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of publicaba vs publicaban
Shared letters: abcilpu. Private to "publicaba": -. Private to "publicaban": n.
"publicaba" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "publicaban" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- publicaba ← pbulicaba · ppublicaba · pubblicaba · pubilcaba · publciaba · publiacba · publicaab · publicabba
- publicaban ← pbulicaban · ppublicaban · pubblicaban · pubilcaban · publciaban · publiacban · publicaabn · publicabann
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "publicaba" for "publicaban" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "publicaba" or "publicaban" 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 "publicaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "publicaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "publicaba" and "publicaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "publicaban vs publicarán". 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 #59,834 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.