Which to use
“tocaban” and “tomaban” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,070
- “tocaban” frequency rank
- #17,564
- “tomaban” frequency rank
- 42634
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tocaban | tomaban |
|---|---|---|
| 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 pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse. |
Where the eye mixes tocaban and tomaban
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tocaban and tomaban
A purely visual mix-up. tocaban ([t̪oˈkaβ̞ãn]) and tomaban ([t̪oˈmaβ̞ãn]) 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 a single letter - c in “tocaban” becomes m in “tomaban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42634, 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]. tomaban is at rank #17,564, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaβ̞ãn].
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 42634, this pair ranks #147,104 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tocaban vs tomaban
Shared letters: abnot. Private to "tocaban": c. Private to "tomaban": m.
"tocaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "tomaban" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tocaban" for "tomaban" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tocaban" vs "tomaban" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tocaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tomaban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,104 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tocaban" and "tomaban" 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 #147,104 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.