separabavssepararConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,748
“separaba” frequency rank
#7,072
“separar” frequency rank
42820
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature separaba separar
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de separar o de separarse. Poner distancia, o incrementarla, entre dos o más cosas o entidades.

Where the eye mixes separaba and separar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
separaba
7 ch
separar

Visual trap between separaba and separar

A purely visual mix-up. separaba ([sepaˈɾaβ̞a]) and separar ([sepaˈɾaɾ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

separaba is recorded at frequency rank #35,748, classified as averb, pronounced [sepaˈɾaβ̞a]. separar is at rank #7,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [sepaˈɾaɾ].

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 42820, this pair ranks #146,114 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of separaba vs separar

Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "separaba": b. Private to "separar": -.

"separaba" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "separar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • separabaceparaba · esparaba · seapraba · sepaarba · separaab · separabba · separava · separbaa
  • separarceparar · esparar · seaprar · sepaarr · separarr · separrar · sepparar · sepraar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "separaba" and "separar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([sepaˈɾaβ̞a] versus [sepaˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "separaba" or "separar"?
"separar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,072 in our Spanish list, against #35,748 for "separaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "separaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "separar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #146,114 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "separaba" and "separar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "separaba vs superaba". 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 #146,114 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