regresabavsregresadoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,543
“regresaba” frequency rank
#12,469
“regresado” frequency rank
32012
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regresaba regresado
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de regresar o de regresarse. Participio de regresar.

Where the eye mixes regresaba and regresado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. regresaba and regresado follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
regresaba
9 ch
regresado

Visual trap between regresaba and regresado

A purely visual mix-up. regresaba ([reɣ̞ɾeˈsaβ̞a]) and regresado ([reɣ̞ɾeˈsað̞o]) 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 32012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

regresaba is recorded at frequency rank #19,543, classified as averb, pronounced [reɣ̞ɾeˈsaβ̞a]. regresado is at rank #12,469, tagged as averb, pronounced [reɣ̞ɾeˈsað̞o].

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 32012, this pair ranks #204,204 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of regresaba vs regresado

Shared letters: aegrs. Private to "regresaba": b. Private to "regresado": do.

"regresaba" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV  ·  "regresado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regresabaergresaba · regersaba · reggresaba · regreasba · regresaab · regresabba · regresava · regresbaa
  • regresadoergresado · regersado · reggresado · regreasdo · regresaddo · regresaod · regresdao · regressado

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "regresaba" for "regresado" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([reɣ̞ɾeˈsaβ̞a] versus [reɣ̞ɾeˈsað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "regresaba" or "regresado"?
"regresado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,469 in our Spanish list, against #19,543 for "regresaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "regresaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "regresado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #204,204 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "regresaba" and "regresado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regresaba vs regresaré". 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 #204,204 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