Which to use
“dormían” and “dormido” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,613
- “dormían” frequency rank
- #4,784
- “dormido” frequency rank
- 34397
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dormían | dormido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dormir o de dormirse. | Participio de dormir. |
Where the eye mixes dormían and dormido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dormían (CVCCVVC) and dormido (CVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: dormían vs dormido
A purely visual mix-up. dormían ([d̪oɾˈmiãn]) and dormido ([d̪oɾˈmið̞o]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dormían is recorded at frequency rank #29,613, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪oɾˈmiãn]. dormido is at rank #4,784, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪oɾˈmið̞o].
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 34397, this pair ranks #191,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dormían vs dormido
Shared letters: dmor. Private to "dormían": aní. Private to "dormido": i.
"dormían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "dormido" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- dormido ← ddormido · domrido · dorimdo · dormdio · dormiddo · dormiod · dormmido · dorrmido
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dormían" and "dormido" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dormían" or "dormido"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dormían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dormido" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #191,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dormían" and "dormido" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dormían vs dormidas". 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 #191,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.