Which to use
“abordan” and “abrían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,917
- “abordan” frequency rank
- #33,906
- “abrían” frequency rank
- 56823
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abordan | abrían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de abordar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse. |
Where the eye mixes abordan and abrían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abordan runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against abrían's 6 (VCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abordan with abrían
A purely visual mix-up. abordan ([aˈβ̞oɾð̞ãn]) and abrían ([aˈβ̞ɾiãn]) 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 56823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abordan is recorded at frequency rank #22,917, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞oɾð̞ãn]. abrían is at rank #33,906, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ɾiãn].
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 56823, this pair ranks #72,964 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abordan vs abrían
Shared letters: abnr. Private to "abordan": do. Private to "abrían": í.
"abordan" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "abrían" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abordan ← abbordan · abodran · aboradn · abordann · aborddan · abordna · aborrdan · abrodan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abordan" and "abrían" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abordan" vs "abrían" - which ranks higher?
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 "abordan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abrían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,964 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abordan" and "abrían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abrían vs abrio". 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 #72,964 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.