Which to use
“trabajaban” and “trabajaron” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,503
- “trabajaban” frequency rank
- #11,688
- “trabajaron” frequency rank
- 23191
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trabajaban | trabajaron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de trabajar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de trabajar. |
Where the eye mixes trabajaban and trabajaron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. trabajaban and trabajaron follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: trabajaban vs trabajaron
A purely visual mix-up. trabajaban ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaβ̞ãn]) and trabajaron ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾõn]) 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 23191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trabajaban is recorded at frequency rank #11,503, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaβ̞ãn]. trabajaron is at rank #11,688, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾõn].
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 23191, this pair ranks #246,941 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trabajaban vs trabajaron
Shared letters: abjnrt. Private to "trabajaban": -. Private to "trabajaron": o.
"trabajaban" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVC · "trabajaron" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- trabajaban ← rtabajaban · tarbajaban · traabjaban · trabaajban · trabajaabn · trabajabann · trabajabban · trabajabna
- trabajaron ← rtabajaron · tarbajaron · traabjaron · trabaajron · trabajaorn · trabajarno · trabajaronn · trabajarron
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "trabajaban" and "trabajaron" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "trabajaban" or "trabajaron"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "trabajaban" and "trabajaron" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "trabajaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trabajaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,941 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trabajaban" and "trabajaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabajados vs trabajaron". 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 #246,941 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.