Which to use
“desaparecen” and “desaparecía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,653
- “desaparecen” frequency rank
- #39,688
- “desaparecía” frequency rank
- 50341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desaparecen | desaparecía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desaparecer o de desaparecerse. |
Where the eye mixes desaparecen and desaparecía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. desaparecen (CVCVCVCVCVC) and desaparecía (CVCVCVCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between desaparecen and desaparecía
A purely visual mix-up. desaparecen ([d̪esapaˈɾesẽn]) and desaparecía ([d̪esapaɾeˈsia]) 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 50341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desaparecen is recorded at frequency rank #10,653, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaˈɾesẽn]. desaparecía is at rank #39,688, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esapaɾeˈsia].
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 50341, this pair ranks #103,726 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of desaparecen vs desaparecía
Shared letters: acdeprs. Private to "desaparecen": n. Private to "desaparecía": í.
"desaparecen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVC · "desaparecía" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- desaparecen ← ddesaparecen · deasparecen · desaaprecen · desapaercen · desaparceen · desapareccen · desaparecenn · desaparecne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "desaparecen" and "desaparecía" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "desaparecen" vs "desaparecía" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "desaparecen" and "desaparecía" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparecen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desaparecía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #103,726 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desaparecen" and "desaparecía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desaparecería vs desaparecía". 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 #103,726 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.