Which to use
“escribían” and “escribís” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,587
- “escribían” frequency rank
- #40,814
- “escribís” frequency rank
- 74401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escribían | escribís |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de escribir o de escribirse. | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de escribir o de escribirse. |
Where the eye mixes escribían and escribís
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. escribían runs 9 letters (VCCCVCVVC) against escribís's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between escribían and escribís
A purely visual mix-up. escribían ([eskɾiˈβ̞iãn]) and escribís ([eskɾiˈβ̞is]) 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 74401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
escribían is recorded at frequency rank #33,587, classified as averb, pronounced [eskɾiˈβ̞iãn]. escribís is at rank #40,814, tagged as averb, pronounced [eskɾiˈβ̞is].
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 74401, this pair ranks #21,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of escribían vs escribís
Shared letters: bceirsí. Private to "escribían": an. Private to "escribís": -.
"escribían" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVVC · "escribís" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "escribían" for "escribís" ever safe?
Which is more common, "escribían" or "escribís"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "escribían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "escribís" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escribían" and "escribís" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escribirse vs escribís". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #21,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.