reclamavsreclamabaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,174
“reclama” frequency rank
#27,753
“reclamaba” frequency rank
35927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reclama reclamaba
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de reclamar o de reclamarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reclamar o de reclamarse.

Where the eye mixes reclama and reclamaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. reclama runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against reclamaba's 9 (CVCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
reclama
9 ch
reclamaba

Visual trap between reclama and reclamaba

A purely visual mix-up. reclama ([reˈklama]) and reclamaba ([reklaˈmaβ̞a]) 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 extra letter(s) - “reclama” sits inside “reclamaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reclama is recorded at frequency rank #8,174, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈklama]. reclamaba is at rank #27,753, tagged as averb, pronounced [reklaˈmaβ̞a].

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 35927, this pair ranks #183,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reclama vs reclamaba

Shared letters: acelmr. Private to "reclama": -. Private to "reclamaba": b.

"reclama" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "reclamaba" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reclamaerclama · rcelama · recalma · recclama · reclaam · reclamma · recllama · reclmaa
  • reclamabaerclamaba · rcelamaba · recalmaba · recclamaba · reclaamba · reclamaab · reclamabba · reclamava

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "reclama" for "reclamaba" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reˈklama] versus [reklaˈmaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reclama" or "reclamaba"?
"reclama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,174 in our Spanish list, against #27,753 for "reclamaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "reclama" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reclamaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #183,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reclama" and "reclamaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reclamaba vs reclamada". 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 #183,441 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