Which to use
“existían” and “existieran” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,996
- “existían” frequency rank
- #26,440
- “existieran” frequency rank
- 34436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | existían | existieran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de existir. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo de existir. |
Where the eye mixes existían and existieran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between existían and existieran
A purely visual mix-up. existían ([eksisˈt̪iãn]) and existieran ([eksisˈt̪jeɾãn]) 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 34436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
existían is recorded at frequency rank #7,996, classified as averb, pronounced [eksisˈt̪iãn]. existieran is at rank #26,440, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksisˈt̪jeɾãn].
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 34436, this pair ranks #191,464 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of existían vs existieran
Shared letters: aeinstx. Private to "existían": í. Private to "existieran": r.
"existían" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC · "existieran" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- existieran ← eixstieran · exisiteran · exisstieran · existeiran · existiearn · existierann · existierna · existierran
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "existían" and "existieran" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "existían" or "existieran" show up more?
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 "existían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "existieran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #191,464 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "existían" and "existieran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "existieran vs existirían". 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 #191,464 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.