conseguíanvsconseguirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,995
“conseguían” frequency rank
#801
“conseguir” frequency rank
37796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conseguían conseguir
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de conseguir o de conseguirse. Alcanzar lo que se desea o busca.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set conseguían and conseguir apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
conseguían
9 ch
conseguir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. conseguían ([kõnseˈɣ̞iãn]) and conseguir ([kõnseˈɣ̞iɾ]) 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 37796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conseguían is recorded at frequency rank #36,995, classified as averb, pronounced [kõnseˈɣ̞iãn]. conseguir is at rank #801, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõnseˈɣ̞iɾ].

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 37796, this pair ranks #173,429 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of conseguían vs conseguir

Shared letters: cegnosu. Private to "conseguían": . Private to "conseguir": ir.

"conseguían" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVVVC  ·  "conseguir" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • conseguircconseguir · cnoseguir · conceguir · conesguir · connseguir · consegguir · consegiur · conseguirr

Frequency comparison

conseguían#36,995
conseguir#801

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conseguían" and "conseguir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõnseˈɣ̞iãn] versus [kõnseˈɣ̞iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "conseguían" or "conseguir"?
"conseguir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #801 in our Spanish list, against #36,995 for "conseguían". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering conseguían vs conseguir

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 “conseguían” 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