tomabavstomadoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,886
“tomaba” frequency rank
#1,965
“tomado” frequency rank
10851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tomaba tomado
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse. Participio de tomar.

Where the eye mixes tomaba and tomado

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
tomaba
6 ch
tomado

Why the eye confuses tomaba with tomado

A purely visual mix-up. tomaba ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a]) and tomado ([t̪oˈmað̞o]) 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 10851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tomaba is recorded at frequency rank #8,886, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaβ̞a]. tomado is at rank #1,965, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmað̞o].

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 10851, this pair ranks #297,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tomaba vs tomado

Shared letters: amot. Private to "tomaba": b. Private to "tomado": d.

"tomaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tomado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomabaotmaba · tmoaba · toamba · tomaab · tomabba · tomava · tombaa · tommaba
  • tomadootmado · tmoado · toamdo · tomaddo · tomaod · tomdao · tommado · ttomado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tomaba" and "tomado" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a] versus [t̪oˈmað̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tomaba" vs "tomado" - which ranks higher?
"tomado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,965 in our Spanish list, against #8,886 for "tomaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tomaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tomaba" and "tomado" 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 #297,149 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