conocenvsconocíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,597
“conocen” frequency rank
#11,012
“conocían” frequency rank
13609
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conocen conocían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de conocer. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de conocer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
conocen
8 ch
conocían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. conocen ([koˈnosẽn]) and conocían ([konoˈsiãn]) 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 13609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conocen is recorded at frequency rank #2,597, classified as averb, pronounced [koˈnosẽn]. conocían is at rank #11,012, tagged as averb, pronounced [konoˈsiãn].

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 13609, this pair ranks #287,209 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of conocen vs conocían

Shared letters: cno. Private to "conocen": e. Private to "conocían": .

"conocen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "conocían" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conocencconocen · cnoocen · concoen · connocen · conoccen · conocenn · conocne · conoecn

Frequency comparison

conocen#2,597
conocían#11,012

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conocen" and "conocían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([koˈnosẽn] versus [konoˈsiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "conocen" or "conocían"?
"conocen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,597 in our Spanish list, against #11,012 for "conocían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering conocen vs conocían

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 “conocen” 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