Which to use
“quedaba” and “quemaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,106
- “quedaba” frequency rank
- #38,331
- “quemaba” frequency rank
- 42437
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quedaba | quemaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quedar o de quedarse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quemar o de quemarse. |
Where the eye mixes quedaba and quemaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. quedaba and quemaba follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between quedaba and quemaba
A purely visual mix-up. quedaba ([keˈð̞aβ̞a]) and quemaba ([keˈmaβ̞a]) 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 a single letter - d in “quedaba” becomes m in “quemaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42437, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quedaba is recorded at frequency rank #4,106, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aβ̞a]. quemaba is at rank #38,331, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈmaβ̞a].
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 42437, this pair ranks #148,210 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of quedaba vs quemaba
Shared letters: abequ. Private to "quedaba": d. Private to "quemaba": m.
"quedaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV · "quemaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "quedaba" and "quemaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "quedaba" or "quemaba"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "quedaba" and "quemaba" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "quedaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quemaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #148,210 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quedaba" and "quemaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quemaba vs quemaban". 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 #148,210 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.