Which to use
“distinguen” and “distinguía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,352
- “distinguen” frequency rank
- #47,743
- “distinguía” frequency rank
- 63095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distinguen | distinguía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de distinguir o de distinguirse. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de distinguir o de distinguirse. |
Where the eye mixes distinguen and distinguía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. distinguen (CVCCVCCVVC) and distinguía (CVCCVCCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: distinguen vs distinguía
A purely visual mix-up. distinguen ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋgẽn]) and distinguía ([d̪ist̪ĩŋˈgia]) 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 63095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
distinguen is recorded at frequency rank #15,352, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈt̪ĩŋgẽn]. distinguía is at rank #47,743, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪ist̪ĩŋˈgia].
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 63095, this pair ranks #49,868 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of distinguen vs distinguía
Shared letters: dginstu. Private to "distinguen": e. Private to "distinguía": aí.
"distinguen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "distinguía" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- distinguen ← ddistinguen · disitnguen · disstinguen · distignuen · distingeun · distingguen · distinguenn · distingune
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "distinguen" and "distinguía" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "distinguen" vs "distinguía" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "distinguen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "distinguía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,868 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distinguen" and "distinguía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "distinguía vs distinguidas". 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 #49,868 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.