Which to use
“tocaban” and “tomaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,070
- “tocaban” frequency rank
- #8,886
- “tomaba” frequency rank
- 33956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tocaban | tomaba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tocar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse. |
Where the eye mixes tocaban and tomaba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tocaban and tomaba
A purely visual mix-up. tocaban ([t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn]) and tomaba ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a]) 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 33956, 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]. tomaba is at rank #8,886, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaβ̞a].
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 33956, this pair ranks #193,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tocaban vs tomaba
Shared letters: abot. Private to "tocaban": cn. Private to "tomaba": m.
"tocaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "tomaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tocaban" and "tomaba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tocaban" or "tomaba"?
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 "tocaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tomaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #193,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tocaban" and "tomaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tomaba vs tomb". 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 #193,989 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.