Which to use
“aparecían” and “aparecieran” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,338
- “aparecían” frequency rank
- #45,735
- “aparecieran” frequency rank
- 63073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aparecían | aparecieran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aparecer o de aparecerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo de aparecer o de aparecerse. |
Where the eye mixes aparecían and aparecieran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aparecían runs 9 letters (VCVCVCVVC) against aparecieran's 11 (VCVCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aparecían vs aparecieran
A purely visual mix-up. aparecían ([apaɾeˈsiãn]) and aparecieran ([apaɾeˈsjeɾãn]) 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 63073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aparecían is recorded at frequency rank #17,338, classified as averb, pronounced [apaɾeˈsiãn]. aparecieran is at rank #45,735, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaɾeˈsjeɾãn].
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 63073, this pair ranks #49,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of aparecían vs aparecieran
Shared letters: acenpr. Private to "aparecían": í. Private to "aparecieran": i.
"aparecían" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC · "aparecieran" · 11 letters · shape VCVCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aparecieran ← aaprecieran · apaercieran · aparceieran · apareccieran · apareceiran · apareciearn · aparecierann · aparecierna
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aparecían" and "aparecieran" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "aparecían" or "aparecieran" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "aparecían" and "aparecieran" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "aparecían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aparecieran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aparecían" and "aparecieran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aparecerán vs aparecieran". 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 #49,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.