Which to use
“quemaban” and “quitaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,541
- “quemaban” frequency rank
- #49,230
- “quitaban” frequency rank
- 94771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quemaban | quitaban |
|---|---|---|
| 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 pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quitar o de quitarse. |
Where the eye mixes quemaban and quitaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. quemaban and quitaban follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses quemaban with quitaban
A purely visual mix-up. quemaban ([keˈmaβ̞ãn]) 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 94771, 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]. 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 94771, this pair ranks #713 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of quemaban vs quitaban
Shared letters: abnqu. Private to "quemaban": em. Private to "quitaban": it.
"quemaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "quitaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "quemaban" for "quitaban" ever safe?
Which is more common, "quemaban" or "quitaban"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "quemaban" and "quitaban" 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 "quitaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #713 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quemaban" and "quitaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quitaban vs quitaran". 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 #713 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.