trabajanvstrabajaronTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,750
“trabajan” frequency rank
#11,688
“trabajaron” frequency rank
14438
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabajan trabajaron
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente 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 trabajan and trabajaron

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. trabajan runs 8 letters (CCVCVCVC) against trabajaron's 10 (CCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
trabajan
10 ch
trabajaron

Look-alike desk: trabajan vs trabajaron

A purely visual mix-up. trabajan ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn]) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabajan is recorded at frequency rank #2,750, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn]. 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 14438, this pair ranks #284,103 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabajan vs trabajaron

Shared letters: abjnrt. Private to "trabajan": -. Private to "trabajaron": o.

"trabajan" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "trabajaron" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajan ← rtabajan · tarbajan · traabjan · trabaajn · trabajann · trabajjan · trabajna · trabbajan
  • trabajaron ← rtabajaron · tarbajaron · traabjaron · trabaajron · trabajaorn · trabajarno · trabajaronn · trabajarron

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "trabajan" for "trabajaron" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn] versus [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trabajan" vs "trabajaron" - which ranks higher?
"trabajan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,750 in our Spanish list, against #11,688 for "trabajaron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajan" 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 #284,103 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trabajan" and "trabajaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabada vs trabajan". 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 #284,103 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