decidíavsdecidióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,043
“decidía” frequency rank
#1,893
“decidió” frequency rank
35936
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decidía decidió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
decidía
7 ch
decidió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. decidía ([d̪esiˈð̞ia]) and decidió ([d̪esiˈð̞jo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decidía is recorded at frequency rank #34,043, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞ia]. decidió is at rank #1,893, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞jo].

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 35936, this pair ranks #183,383 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decidía vs decidió

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decidía": . Private to "decidió": ó.

"decidía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "decidió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

decidía#34,043
decidió#1,893

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decidía" and "decidió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esiˈð̞ia] versus [d̪esiˈð̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decidía" or "decidió"?
"decidió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,893 in our Spanish list, against #34,043 for "decidía". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering decidía vs decidió

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 “decidía” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list