quitabavsquitabanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“quitaba” and “quitaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,807
“quitaba” frequency rank
#49,230
“quitaban” frequency rank
79037
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quitaba quitaban
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quitar o de quitarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quitar o de quitarse.

Where the eye mixes quitaba and quitaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
quitaba
8 ch
quitaban

Why the eye confuses quitaba with quitaban

A purely visual mix-up. quitaba ([kiˈt̪aβ̞a]) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “quitaba” sits inside “quitaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quitaba is recorded at frequency rank #29,807, classified as averb, pronounced [kiˈt̪aβ̞a]. 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 79037, this pair ranks #13,570 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of quitaba vs quitaban

Shared letters: abiqtu. Private to "quitaba": -. Private to "quitaban": n.

"quitaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "quitaban" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quitabaqiutaba · qquitaba · quiatba · quitaab · quitabba · quitava · quitbaa · quittaba
  • quitabanqiutaban · qquitaban · quiatban · quitaabn · quitabann · quitabban · quitabna · quitavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quitaba" and "quitaban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kiˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [kiˈt̪aβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quitaba" or "quitaban"?
"quitaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,807 in our Spanish list, against #49,230 for "quitaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "quitaba" and "quitaban" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "quitaba" 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 #13,570 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quitaba" 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 #13,570 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list