tomabavstomaránTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,886
“tomaba” frequency rank
#16,467
“tomarán” frequency rank
25353
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tomaba tomarán
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de tomar o de tomarse.

Where the eye mixes tomaba and tomarán

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

6 ch
tomaba
7 ch
tomarán

Why the eye confuses tomaba with tomarán

A purely visual mix-up. tomaba ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a]) and tomarán ([t̪omaˈɾãn]) 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 25353, 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]. tomarán is at rank #16,467, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪omaˈɾãn].

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 25353, this pair ranks #236,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tomaba vs tomarán

Shared letters: amot. Private to "tomaba": b. Private to "tomarán": nrá.

"tomaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tomarán" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomabaotmaba · tmoaba · toamba · tomaab · tomabba · tomava · tombaa · tommaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tomaba" and "tomarán" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈmaβ̞a] versus [t̪omaˈɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tomaba" vs "tomarán" - which ranks higher?
"tomaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,886 in our Spanish list, against #16,467 for "tomarán". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "tomaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomarán" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #236,821 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tomaba" and "tomarán" 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 #236,821 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