Which to use
“respira” and “respiraba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,920
- “respira” frequency rank
- #34,755
- “respiraba” frequency rank
- 45675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | respira | respiraba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de respirar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de respirar. |
Where the eye mixes respira and respiraba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. respira runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against respiraba's 9 (CVCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses respira with respiraba
A purely visual mix-up. respira ([resˈpiɾa]) and respiraba ([respiˈɾaβ̞a]) 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) - “respira” sits inside “respiraba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
respira is recorded at frequency rank #10,920, classified as averb, pronounced [resˈpiɾa]. respiraba is at rank #34,755, tagged as averb, pronounced [respiˈɾaβ̞a].
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 45675, this pair ranks #130,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of respira vs respiraba
Shared letters: aeiprs. Private to "respira": -. Private to "respiraba": b.
"respira" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "respiraba" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "respira" and "respiraba" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "respira" or "respiraba" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "respira" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "respiraba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #130,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "respira" and "respiraba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "respiraba vs retiraba". 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 #130,070 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.