comívscomíanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,291
“comí” frequency rank
#27,156
“comían” frequency rank
37447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature comí comían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de comer o de comerse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de comer o de comerse.

Where the eye mixes comí and comían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. comí runs 4 letters (CVCV) against comían's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
comí
6 ch
comían

Look-alike desk: comí vs comían

A purely visual mix-up. comí ([koˈmi]) and comían ([koˈmiãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “comí” sits inside “comían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

comí is recorded at frequency rank #10,291, classified as averb, pronounced [koˈmi]. comían is at rank #27,156, tagged as averb, pronounced [koˈmiãn].

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 37447, this pair ranks #175,251 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of comí vs comían

Shared letters: cmoí. Private to "comí": -. Private to "comían": an.

"comí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "comían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "comí" for "comían" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([koˈmi] versus [koˈmiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "comí" vs "comían" - which ranks higher?
"comí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,291 in our Spanish list, against #27,156 for "comían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "comí" and "comían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "comí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "comían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #175,251 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "comí" and "comían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs comían". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #175,251 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list