discutíavsdiscutíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,176
“discutía” frequency rank
#37,039
“discutían” frequency rank
69215
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature discutía discutían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de discutir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de discutir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
discutía
9 ch
discutían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. discutía ([d̪iskuˈt̪ia]) and discutían ([d̪iskuˈt̪iãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “discutía” sits inside “discutían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

discutía is recorded at frequency rank #32,176, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪iskuˈt̪ia]. discutían is at rank #37,039, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪iskuˈt̪iãn].

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 69215, this pair ranks #32,500 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of discutía vs discutían

Shared letters: acdistuí. Private to "discutía": -. Private to "discutían": n.

"discutía" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "discutían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

discutía#32,176
discutían#37,039

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "discutía" and "discutían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪iskuˈt̪ia] versus [d̪iskuˈt̪iãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "discutía" or "discutían"?
"discutía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,176 in our Spanish list, against #37,039 for "discutían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering discutía vs discutían

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 “discutía” 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