Which to use
“defendían” and “defiendan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,461
- “defendían” frequency rank
- #24,825
- “defiendan” frequency rank
- 49286
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defendían | defiendan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de defender o de defenderse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de defender o de defenderse. |
Where the eye mixes defendían and defiendan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. defendían (CVCVCCVVC) and defiendan (CVCVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: defendían vs defiendan
A purely visual mix-up. defendían ([d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪iãn]) and defiendan ([d̪eˈfjẽn̪d̪ãn]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49286, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defendían is recorded at frequency rank #24,461, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪efẽn̪ˈd̪iãn]. defiendan is at rank #24,825, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈfjẽn̪d̪ãn].
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 49286, this pair ranks #109,696 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of defendían vs defiendan
Shared letters: adefn. Private to "defendían": í. Private to "defiendan": i.
"defendían" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "defiendan" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- defiendan ← ddefiendan · defeindan · deffiendan · defiednan · defienadn · defiendann · defienddan · defiendna
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "defendían" for "defiendan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "defendían" or "defiendan"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "defendían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defiendan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,696 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defendían" and "defiendan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defiendan vs dependan". 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 #109,696 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.