describavsdescribíaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,155
“describa” frequency rank
#25,994
“describía” frequency rank
65149
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature describa describía
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de describir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de describir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set describa and describía apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
describa
9 ch
describía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. describa ([d̪esˈkɾiβ̞a]) and describía ([d̪eskɾiˈβ̞ia]) 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 65149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

describa is recorded at frequency rank #39,155, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkɾiβ̞a]. describía is at rank #25,994, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eskɾiˈβ̞ia].

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 65149, this pair ranks #43,497 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of describa vs describía

Shared letters: abcdeirs. Private to "describa": -. Private to "describía": í.

"describa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "describía" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • describaddescriba · decsriba · desccriba · descirba · descrbia · descriab · describba · descriva

Frequency comparison

describa#39,155
describía#25,994

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "describa" and "describía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈkɾiβ̞a] versus [d̪eskɾiˈβ̞ia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "describa" or "describía"?
"describía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,994 in our Spanish list, against #39,155 for "describa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering describa vs describía

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “describa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list