hacenvshacíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#338
“hacen” frequency rank
#3,256
“hacían” frequency rank
3594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hacen hacían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de hacer o de hacerse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de hacer o de hacerse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
hacen
6 ch
hacían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hacen ([ˈasẽn]) and hacían ([aˈsiãn]) 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 3594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hacen is recorded at frequency rank #338, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈasẽn]. hacían is at rank #3,256, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈsiãn].

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 3594, this pair ranks #317,975 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hacen vs hacían

Shared letters: achn. Private to "hacen": e. Private to "hacían": í.

"hacen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "hacían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hacenahcen · haccen · hacenn · hacne · haecn · hasen · hcaen · hhacen

Frequency comparison

hacen#338
hacían#3,256

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hacen" and "hacían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈasẽn] versus [aˈsiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hacen" or "hacían"?
"hacen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #338 in our Spanish list, against #3,256 for "hacían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hacen vs hacían

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 “hacen” 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