Which to use
“depende” is a phrase and “dependía” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,633
- “depende” frequency rank
- #18,784
- “dependía” frequency rank
- 20417
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | depende | dependía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Expresión para indicar que algo es contingente o se acepta solo bajo determinadas condiciones.. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de depender. |
Where the eye mixes depende and dependía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses depende with dependía
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: depende is [d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪e] while dependía is [d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪ia]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (phrase vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
depende is recorded at frequency rank #1,633, classified as aphrase, pronounced [d̪eˈpẽn̪d̪e]. dependía is at rank #18,784, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪epẽn̪ˈd̪ia].
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 20417, this pair ranks #259,421 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of depende vs dependía
Shared letters: denp. Private to "depende": -. Private to "dependía": aí.
"depende" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "dependía" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- depende ← ddepende · deepnde · depedne · dependde · depened · depennde · depnede · deppende
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "depende" for "dependía" ever safe?
Which is more common, "depende" or "dependía"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "depende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dependía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #259,421 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "depende" and "dependía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dependan vs dependía". 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 #259,421 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.