Which to use
“sonaban” and “sumaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,399
- “sonaban” frequency rank
- #40,006
- “sumaban” frequency rank
- 78405
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sonaban | sumaban |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sonar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sumar. |
Where the eye mixes sonaban and sumaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sonaban with sumaban
A purely visual mix-up. sonaban ([soˈnaβ̞ãn]) and sumaban ([suˈmaβ̞ãn]) 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 78405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sonaban is recorded at frequency rank #38,399, classified as averb, pronounced [soˈnaβ̞ãn]. sumaban is at rank #40,006, tagged as averb, pronounced [suˈmaβ̞ãn].
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 78405, this pair ranks #14,504 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sonaban vs sumaban
Shared letters: abns. Private to "sonaban": o. Private to "sumaban": mu.
"sonaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "sumaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sonaban" for "sumaban" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sonaban" vs "sumaban" - which ranks higher?
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 "sonaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sumaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,504 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sonaban" and "sumaban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sumaban vs sumada". 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 #14,504 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.