dormivsdormíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,314
“dormi” frequency rank
#29,613
“dormían” frequency rank
70927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dormi dormían
Definition Dormir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dormir o de dormirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dormi and dormían apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dormi
7 ch
dormían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dormi (/ˈdoɾ.mi/) and dormían ([d̪oɾˈmiãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dormi is recorded at frequency rank #41,314, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈdoɾ.mi/. dormían is at rank #29,613, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪oɾˈmiãn].

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 70927, this pair ranks #28,616 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dormi vs dormían

Shared letters: dmor. Private to "dormi": i. Private to "dormían": aní.

"dormi" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "dormían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dormiddormi · domri · dorim · dormmi · dorrmi · dromi · odrmi

Frequency comparison

dormi#41,314
dormían#29,613

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dormi" and "dormían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdoɾ.mi/ versus [d̪oɾˈmiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dormi" or "dormían"?
"dormían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,613 in our Spanish list, against #41,314 for "dormi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dormi vs dormían

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 “dormi” 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