Which to use
“contenía” and “contenían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,471
- “contenía” frequency rank
- #19,965
- “contenían” frequency rank
- 30436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenía | contenían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contener o de contenerse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de contener o de contenerse. |
Where the eye mixes contenía and contenían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contenía runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVV) against contenían's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: contenía vs contenían
A purely visual mix-up. contenía ([kõn̪t̪eˈnia]) and contenían ([kõn̪t̪eˈniãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “contenía” sits inside “contenían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contenía is recorded at frequency rank #10,471, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪eˈnia]. contenían is at rank #19,965, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪eˈniãn].
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 30436, this pair ranks #211,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contenía vs contenían
Shared letters: acenotí. Private to "contenía": -. Private to "contenían": -.
"contenía" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV · "contenían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contenía" and "contenían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "contenía" vs "contenían" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contenía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #211,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contenía" and "contenían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contenían vs contentar". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #211,986 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.