Which to use
“defendía” and “dependían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,550
- “defendía” frequency rank
- #37,020
- “dependían” frequency rank
- 53570
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defendía | dependían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de defender o de defenderse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de depender. |
Where the eye mixes defendía and dependían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. defendía runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVV) against dependían's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses defendía with dependían
A purely visual mix-up. defendía ([d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪ia]) and dependían ([d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪iãn]) 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 53570, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defendía is recorded at frequency rank #16,550, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪ia]. dependían is at rank #37,020, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪iãn].
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 53570, this pair ranks #87,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of defendía vs dependían
Shared letters: adení. Private to "defendía": f. Private to "dependían": p.
"defendía" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "dependían" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "defendía" and "dependían" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "defendía" vs "dependían" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "defendía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dependían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defendía" and "dependían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dependerán vs dependían". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #87,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.