Which to use
“quejaban” and “quemaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,330
- “quejaban” frequency rank
- #38,331
- “quemaba” frequency rank
- 76661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quejaban | quemaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quejar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quemar o de quemarse. |
Where the eye mixes quejaban and quemaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. quejaban 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: quejaban vs quemaba
A purely visual mix-up. quejaban ([keˈxaβ̞ãn]) 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 76661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quejaban is recorded at frequency rank #38,330, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈxaβ̞ãn]. 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 76661, this pair ranks #17,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of quejaban vs quemaba
Shared letters: abequ. Private to "quejaban": jn. Private to "quemaba": m.
"quejaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "quemaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "quejaban" for "quemaba" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "quejaban" or "quemaba" show up more?
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 "quejaban" 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 #17,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quejaban" and "quemaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quejaban 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 #17,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.