corríanvscríanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,081
“corrían” frequency rank
#30,409
“crían” frequency rank
54490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature corrían crían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de correr o de correrse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de criar o de criarse.

Where the eye mixes corrían and crían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
corrían
5 ch
crían

Look-alike desk: corrían vs crían

A purely visual mix-up. corrían ([koˈriãn]) and crían ([ˈkɾiãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

corrían is recorded at frequency rank #24,081, classified as averb, pronounced [koˈriãn]. crían is at rank #30,409, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾiãn].

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 54490, this pair ranks #83,081 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of corrían vs crían

Shared letters: acnrí. Private to "corrían": o. Private to "crían": -.

"corrían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "crían" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "corrían" for "crían" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([koˈriãn] versus [ˈkɾiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "corrían" vs "crían" - which ranks higher?
"corrían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,081 in our Spanish list, against #30,409 for "crían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "corrían" and "crían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "corrían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "crían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #83,081 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "corrían" and "crían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs crían". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #83,081 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list