conducíavsconducirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,554
“conducía” frequency rank
#3,993
“conducir” frequency rank
18547
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conducía conducir
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de conducir o de conducirse. Llevar₁, transportar₁ [algo o a alguien] de una parte a otra.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set conducía and conducir apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
conducía
8 ch
conducir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. conducía ([kõn̪d̪uˈsia]) and conducir ([kõn̪d̪uˈsiɾ]) 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 18547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conducía is recorded at frequency rank #14,554, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪d̪uˈsia]. conducir is at rank #3,993, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪d̪uˈsiɾ].

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 18547, this pair ranks #267,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of conducía vs conducir

Shared letters: cdnou. Private to "conducía": . Private to "conducir": ir.

"conducía" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "conducir" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conducircconducir · cnoducir · codnucir · condcuir · condducir · conduccir · conducirr · conducri

Frequency comparison

conducía#14,554
conducir#3,993

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conducía" and "conducir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõn̪d̪uˈsia] versus [kõn̪d̪uˈsiɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "conducía" or "conducir"?
"conducir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,993 in our Spanish list, against #14,554 for "conducía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering conducía vs conducir

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 “conducía” 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