Which to use
“quemaban” and “queman” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,541
- “quemaban” frequency rank
- #14,929
- “queman” frequency rank
- 60470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quemaban | queman |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quemar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de quemar o de quemarse. |
Where the eye mixes quemaban and queman
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: quemaban vs queman
A purely visual mix-up. quemaban ([keˈmaβ̞ãn]) and queman ([ˈkemãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quemaban is recorded at frequency rank #45,541, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈmaβ̞ãn]. queman is at rank #14,929, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkemãn].
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 60470, this pair ranks #58,837 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of quemaban vs queman
Shared letters: aemnqu. Private to "quemaban": b. Private to "queman": -.
"quemaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "queman" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "quemaban" and "queman" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "quemaban" vs "queman" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "quemaban" and "queman" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "quemaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "queman" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,837 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quemaban" and "queman" 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 #58,837 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.