dividevsdividíaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,514
“divide” frequency rank
#42,962
“dividía” frequency rank
49476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature divide dividía
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dividir o de dividirse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dividir o de dividirse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
divide
7 ch
dividía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. divide ([d̪iˈβ̞ið̞e]) and dividía ([d̪iβ̞iˈð̞ia]) 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 49476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

divide is recorded at frequency rank #6,514, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪iˈβ̞ið̞e]. dividía is at rank #42,962, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪iβ̞iˈð̞ia].

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 49476, this pair ranks #108,653 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of divide vs dividía

Shared letters: div. Private to "divide": e. Private to "dividía": .

"divide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "dividía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • divideddivide · dibide · diivde · divdie · dividde · divied · divvide · dviide

Frequency comparison

divide#6,514
dividía#42,962

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "divide" and "dividía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪iˈβ̞ið̞e] versus [d̪iβ̞iˈð̞ia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "divide" or "dividía"?
"divide" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,514 in our Spanish list, against #42,962 for "dividía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering divide vs dividía

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 “divide” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list