defendívsdefiendaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,842
“defendí” frequency rank
#18,782
“defienda” frequency rank
60624
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature defendí defienda
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de defender o de defenderse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de defender o de defenderse.

Where the eye mixes defendí and defienda

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. defendí runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against defienda's 8 (CVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
defendí
8 ch
defienda

Why the eye confuses defendí with defienda

A purely visual mix-up. defendí ([d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪i]) and defienda ([d̪eˈfjẽn̪d̪a]) 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 60624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

defendí is recorded at frequency rank #41,842, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪i]. defienda is at rank #18,782, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈfjẽn̪d̪a].

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 60624, this pair ranks #58,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of defendí vs defienda

Shared letters: defn. Private to "defendí": í. Private to "defienda": ai.

"defendí" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "defienda" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • defienda ← ddefienda · defeinda · deffienda · defiedna · defienad · defiendda · defiennda · defineda

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "defendí" and "defienda" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪i] versus [d̪eˈfjẽn̪d̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "defendí" or "defienda" show up more?
"defienda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,782 in our Spanish list, against #41,842 for "defendí". 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 "defendí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "defienda" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "defendí" and "defienda" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defendí vs defense". 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 #58,301 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