construíanvsconstruyanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,221
“construían” frequency rank
#33,039
“construyan” frequency rank
78260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature construían construyan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de construir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de construir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set construían and construyan apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
construían
10 ch
construyan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. construían ([kõnsˈt̪ɾwiãn]) and construyan ([kõnsˈt̪ɾuʝãn]) 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 a single letter - í in “construían” becomes y in “construyan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

construían is recorded at frequency rank #45,221, classified as averb, pronounced [kõnsˈt̪ɾwiãn]. construyan is at rank #33,039, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõnsˈt̪ɾuʝãn].

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 78260, this pair ranks #14,716 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of construían vs construyan

Shared letters: acnorstu. Private to "construían": í. Private to "construyan": y.

"construían" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVVVC  ·  "construyan" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • construyancconstruyan · cnostruyan · connstruyan · consrtuyan · consstruyan · constrruyan · construayn · construyann

Frequency comparison

construían#45,221
construyan#33,039

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "construían" and "construyan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kõnsˈt̪ɾwiãn] versus [kõnsˈt̪ɾuʝãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "construían" or "construyan"?
"construyan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,039 in our Spanish list, against #45,221 for "construían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering construían vs construyan

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 “construían” 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