Which to use
“crecen” and “crecían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,839
- “crecen” frequency rank
- #44,081
- “crecían” frequency rank
- 51920
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crecen | crecían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de crecer. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de crecer. |
Where the eye mixes crecen and crecían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. crecen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against crecían's 7 (CCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: crecen vs crecían
A purely visual mix-up. crecen ([ˈkɾesẽn]) and crecían ([kɾeˈsiãn]) 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 51920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crecen is recorded at frequency rank #7,839, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾesẽn]. crecían is at rank #44,081, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɾeˈsiãn].
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 51920, this pair ranks #95,347 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of crecen vs crecían
Shared letters: cenr. Private to "crecen": -. Private to "crecían": aí.
"crecen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "crecían" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- crecen ← ccrecen · cercen · crceen · creccen · crecenn · crecne · creecn · cresen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "crecen" for "crecían" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "crecen" or "crecían" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "crecen" and "crecían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "crecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crecían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #95,347 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crecen" and "crecían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caerían vs crecían". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #95,347 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.