Which to use
“quedaban” and “quitaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,027
- “quedaban” frequency rank
- #49,230
- “quitaban” frequency rank
- 58257
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quedaban | quitaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quedar o de quedarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quitar o de quitarse. |
Where the eye mixes quedaban and quitaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses quedaban with quitaban
A purely visual mix-up. quedaban ([keˈð̞aβ̞ãn]) and quitaban ([kiˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) 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 58257, 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]. quitaban is at rank #49,230, tagged as averb, pronounced [kiˈt̪aβ̞ãn].
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 58257, this pair ranks #67,130 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of quedaban vs quitaban
Shared letters: abnqu. Private to "quedaban": de. Private to "quitaban": it.
"quedaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "quitaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "quedaban" and "quitaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "quedaban" vs "quitaban" - 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 "quitaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,130 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quedaban" and "quitaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quemaban vs quitaban". 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 #67,130 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.