Which to use
“abrían” and “abrir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,906
- “abrían” frequency rank
- #1,464
- “abrir” frequency rank
- 35370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abrían | abrir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse. | Remover la tapa o la cubierta de algo, haciéndolo visible. |
Where the eye mixes abrían and abrir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. abrían runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against abrir's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abrían and abrir
A purely visual mix-up. abrían ([aˈβ̞ɾiãn]) and abrir ([aˈβ̞ɾiɾ]) 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 35370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abrían is recorded at frequency rank #33,906, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ɾiãn]. abrir is at rank #1,464, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ɾiɾ].
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 35370, this pair ranks #186,463 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abrían vs abrir
Shared letters: abr. Private to "abrían": ní. Private to "abrir": i.
"abrían" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "abrir" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abrir ← abbrir · abirr · abrirr · abrri · abrrir · arbir · avrir · barir
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abrían" for "abrir" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abrían" vs "abrir" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "abrían" and "abrir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abrían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abrir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #186,463 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abrían" and "abrir" 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 #186,463 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.