cumplíavscumplíanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,823
“cumplía” frequency rank
#29,576
“cumplían” frequency rank
45399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cumplía cumplían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cumplir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cumplir.

Where the eye mixes cumplía and cumplían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. cumplía runs 7 letters (CVCCCVV) against cumplían's 8 (CVCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
cumplía
8 ch
cumplían

Look-alike desk: cumplía vs cumplían

A purely visual mix-up. cumplía ([kũmˈplia]) and cumplían ([kũmˈpliãn]) 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) - “cumplía” sits inside “cumplían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cumplía is recorded at frequency rank #15,823, classified as averb, pronounced [kũmˈplia]. cumplían is at rank #29,576, tagged as averb, pronounced [kũmˈpliãn].

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 45399, this pair ranks #131,657 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cumplía vs cumplían

Shared letters: aclmpuí. Private to "cumplía": -. Private to "cumplían": n.

"cumplía" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV  ·  "cumplían" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cumplía" and "cumplían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kũmˈplia] versus [kũmˈpliãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cumplía" vs "cumplían" - which ranks higher?
"cumplía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,823 in our Spanish list, against #29,576 for "cumplían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cumplían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #131,657 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cumplía" and "cumplían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cumplían vs cumpliré". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #131,657 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