quemabavsquemadaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quemaba is a verb, quemada is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quemaba” is a verb and “quemada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,331
“quemaba” frequency rank
#13,328
“quemada” frequency rank
51659
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quemaba quemada
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quemar o de quemarse. Forma del femenino de quemado, participio de quemar o de quemarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quemaba and quemada apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
quemaba
7 ch
quemada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quemaba is [keˈmaβ̞a] while quemada is [keˈmað̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “quemaba” becomes d in “quemada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51659, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quemaba is recorded at frequency rank #38,331, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈmaβ̞a]. quemada is at rank #13,328, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [keˈmað̞a].

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 51659, this pair ranks #96,773 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quemaba vs quemada

Shared letters: aemqu. Private to "quemaba": b. Private to "quemada": d.

"quemaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "quemada" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quemabaqeumaba · qquemaba · queamba · quemaab · quemabba · quemava · quembaa · quemmaba
  • quemadaqeumada · qquemada · queamda · quemaad · quemadda · quemdaa · quemmada · qumeada

Frequency comparison

quemaba#38,331
quemada#13,328

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quemaba" and "quemada" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quemaba" is a verb and "quemada" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quemaba" or "quemada"?
"quemada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,328 in our Spanish list, against #38,331 for "quemaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quemaba vs quemada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “quemaba”; for a participle, it's “quemada”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quemaba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list