despedívsdespidióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,159
“despedí” frequency rank
#13,226
“despidió” frequency rank
52385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature despedí despidió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de despedir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de despedir o de despedirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set despedí and despidió apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
despedí
8 ch
despidió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. despedí ([d̪espeˈð̞i]) and despidió ([d̪espiˈð̞jo]) 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 52385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

despedí is recorded at frequency rank #39,159, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪espeˈð̞i]. despidió is at rank #13,226, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪espiˈð̞jo].

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 52385, this pair ranks #92,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of despedí vs despidió

Shared letters: deps. Private to "despedí": í. Private to "despidió": .

"despedí" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "despidió" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

despedí#39,159
despidió#13,226

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "despedí" and "despidió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪espeˈð̞i] versus [d̪espiˈð̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "despedí" or "despidió"?
"despidió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,226 in our Spanish list, against #39,159 for "despedí". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering despedí vs despidió

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 “despedí” 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