cumplíanvscumplióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,576
“cumplían” frequency rank
#6,281
“cumplió” frequency rank
35857
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cumplían cumplió
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cumplir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cumplir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cumplían and cumplió apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
cumplían
7 ch
cumplió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cumplían ([kũmˈpliãn]) and cumplió ([kũmˈpljo]) 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 35857, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cumplían is recorded at frequency rank #29,576, classified as averb, pronounced [kũmˈpliãn]. cumplió is at rank #6,281, tagged as averb, pronounced [kũmˈpljo].

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 35857, this pair ranks #183,797 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cumplían vs cumplió

Shared letters: clmpu. Private to "cumplían": aní. Private to "cumplió": .

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

Frequency comparison

cumplían#29,576
cumplió#6,281

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cumplían" and "cumplió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kũmˈpliãn] versus [kũmˈpljo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cumplían" or "cumplió"?
"cumplió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,281 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.

Remembering cumplían vs cumplió

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 “cumplían” 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