Which to use
“tocaban” and “tocan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,070
- “tocaban” frequency rank
- #7,923
- “tocan” frequency rank
- 32993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tocaban | tocan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tocar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de tocar. |
Where the eye mixes tocaban and tocan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tocaban with tocan
A purely visual mix-up. tocaban ([t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn]) and tocan ([ˈt̪okãn]) 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 32993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tocaban is recorded at frequency rank #25,070, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn]. tocan is at rank #7,923, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt̪okãn].
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 32993, this pair ranks #199,123 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tocaban vs tocan
Shared letters: acnot. Private to "tocaban": b. Private to "tocan": -.
"tocaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "tocan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tocaban" and "tocan" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tocaban" or "tocan" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "tocaban" and "tocan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tocaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tocan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #199,123 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tocaban" and "tocan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tiraban vs tocaban". 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 #199,123 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.