abríanvsabrirWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abrían and abrir apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
abrían
5 ch
abrir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": . Private to "abrir": i.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abrirabbrir · abirr · abrirr · abrri · abrrir · arbir · avrir · barir

Frequency comparison

abrían#33,906
abrir#1,464

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abrían" and "abrir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈβ̞ɾiãn] versus [aˈβ̞ɾiɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abrían" or "abrir"?
"abrir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,464 in our Spanish list, against #33,906 for "abrían". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering abrían vs abrir

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 “abrían” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list