bebíavsbebióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,097
“bebía” frequency rank
#29,511
“bebió” frequency rank
61608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bebía bebió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto 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 bebía and bebió apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
bebía
5 ch
bebió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bebía ([beˈβ̞ia]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bebía is recorded at frequency rank #32,097, classified as averb, pronounced [beˈβ̞ia]. 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 61608, this pair ranks #54,867 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bebía vs bebió

Shared letters: be. Private to "bebía": . Private to "bebió": .

"bebía" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "bebió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

bebía#32,097
bebió#29,511

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bebía" and "bebió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([beˈβ̞ia] versus [beˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bebía" or "bebió"?
"bebió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,511 in our Spanish list, against #32,097 for "bebía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bebía 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 “bebía” 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