Which to use
“quedaban” and “quemaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,027
- “quedaban” frequency rank
- #38,331
- “quemaba” frequency rank
- 47358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quedaban | quemaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) 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 quedaban and quemaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. quedaban runs 8 letters (CVVCVCVC) against quemaba's 7 (CVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: quedaban vs quemaba
A purely visual mix-up. quedaban ([keˈð̞aβ̞ãn]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quedaban is recorded at frequency rank #9,027, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aβ̞ãn]. 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 47358, this pair ranks #120,483 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of quedaban vs quemaba
Shared letters: abequ. Private to "quedaban": dn. Private to "quemaba": m.
"quedaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "quemaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "quedaban" for "quemaba" ever safe?
Frequency check: "quedaban" vs "quemaba" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "quedaban" 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 #120,483 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quedaban" 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 #120,483 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.