abrenvsabríanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,480
“abren” frequency rank
#33,906
“abrían” frequency rank
40386
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abren abrían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abren and abrían apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
abren
6 ch
abrían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abren ([ˈaβ̞ɾẽn]) 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 40386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abren is recorded at frequency rank #6,480, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaβ̞ɾẽn]. 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 40386, this pair ranks #159,376 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abren vs abrían

Shared letters: abnr. Private to "abren": e. Private to "abrían": í.

"abren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "abrían" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abrenabbren · abern · abrenn · abrne · abrren · arben · avren · baren

Frequency comparison

abren#6,480
abrían#33,906

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abren" and "abrían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaβ̞ɾẽn] versus [aˈβ̞ɾiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abren" or "abrían"?
"abren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,480 in our Spanish list, against #33,906 for "abrían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abren vs abrían

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list