Which to use
“distinguen” and “distinguió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,352
- “distinguen” frequency rank
- #28,338
- “distinguió” frequency rank
- 43690
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distinguen | distinguió |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 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 eye mixes distinguen and distinguió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. distinguen (CVCCVCCVVC) and distinguió (CVCCVCCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses distinguen with distinguió
A purely visual mix-up. distinguen ([d̪isˈt̪ĩŋgẽn]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43690, 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]. 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 43690, this pair ranks #141,252 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of distinguen vs distinguió
Shared letters: dginstu. Private to "distinguen": e. Private to "distinguió": ó.
"distinguen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "distinguió" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- distinguen ← ddistinguen · disitnguen · disstinguen · distignuen · distingeun · distingguen · distinguenn · distingune
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "distinguen" and "distinguió" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "distinguen" vs "distinguió" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "distinguió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #141,252 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distinguen" and "distinguió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "distinguía vs distinguió". 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 #141,252 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.