bebívsbebióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,362
“bebí” frequency rank
#29,511
“bebió” frequency rank
75873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bebí bebió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de beber o de beberse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de beber o de beberse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
bebí
5 ch
bebió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bebí ([beˈβ̞i]) and bebió ([beˈβ̞jo]) 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 75873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bebí is recorded at frequency rank #46,362, classified as averb, pronounced [beˈβ̞i]. bebió is at rank #29,511, tagged as averb, pronounced [beˈβ̞jo].

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 75873, this pair ranks #18,740 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bebí vs bebió

Shared letters: be. Private to "bebí": í. Private to "bebió": .

"bebí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "bebió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

bebí#46,362
bebió#29,511

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bebí" and "bebió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([beˈβ̞i] versus [beˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bebí" or "bebió"?
"bebió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,511 in our Spanish list, against #46,362 for "bebí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bebí vs bebió

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 “bebí” 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