subanvssumabanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,061
“suban” frequency rank
#40,006
“sumaban” frequency rank
52067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature suban sumaban
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de subir o de subirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sumar.

Where the eye mixes suban and sumaban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
suban
7 ch
sumaban

Why the eye confuses suban with sumaban

A purely visual mix-up. suban ([ˈsuβ̞ãn]) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

suban is recorded at frequency rank #12,061, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsuβ̞ãn]. 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 52067, this pair ranks #94,567 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of suban vs sumaban

Shared letters: abnsu. Private to "suban": -. Private to "sumaban": m.

"suban" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "sumaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • subansbuan · ssuban · suabn · subann · subban · subna · suvan · usban
  • sumabansmuaban · ssumaban · suamban · sumaabn · sumabann · sumabban · sumabna · sumavan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "suban" and "sumaban" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsuβ̞ãn] versus [suˈmaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "suban" or "sumaban" show up more?
"suban" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,061 in our Spanish list, against #40,006 for "sumaban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "suban" 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 #94,567 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "suban" 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 #94,567 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