distinguevsdistinguióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,804
“distingue” frequency rank
#28,338
“distinguió” frequency rank
38142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature distingue distinguió
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de distinguir o de distinguirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de distinguir o de distinguirse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
distingue
10 ch
distinguió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. distingue ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋge]) and distinguió ([d̪ist̪ĩŋˈgjo]) 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 38142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

distingue is recorded at frequency rank #9,804, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈt̪ĩŋge]. distinguió is at rank #28,338, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪ist̪ĩŋˈgjo].

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 38142, this pair ranks #171,610 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of distingue vs distinguió

Shared letters: dginstu. Private to "distingue": e. Private to "distinguió": ó.

"distingue" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV  ·  "distinguió" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • distingueddistingue · disitngue · disstingue · distignue · distingeu · distinggue · distinngue · distinuge

Frequency comparison

distingue#9,804
distinguió#28,338

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "distingue" and "distinguió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋge] versus [d̪ist̪ĩŋˈgjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "distingue" or "distinguió"?
"distingue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,804 in our Spanish list, against #28,338 for "distinguió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering distingue vs distinguió

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 “distingue” 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