Which to use
“herir” and “hirió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,394
- “herir” frequency rank
- #20,068
- “hirió” frequency rank
- 32462
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | herir | hirió |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abrir, romper, destrozar las carnes de un animal. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de herir. |
Where the eye mixes herir and hirió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. herir (CVCVC) and hirió (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses herir with hirió
A purely visual mix-up. herir ([eˈɾiɾ]) and hirió ([iˈɾjo]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
herir is recorded at frequency rank #12,394, classified as averb, pronounced [eˈɾiɾ]. hirió is at rank #20,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [iˈɾjo].
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 32462, this pair ranks #201,812 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of herir vs hirió
Shared letters: hir. Private to "herir": e. Private to "hirió": ó.
"herir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hirió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- herir ← ehrir · heirr · herirr · herri · herrir · hherir · hreir
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "herir" and "hirió" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "herir" or "hirió"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "herir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hirió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #201,812 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "herir" and "hirió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "higo vs hirió". 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 #201,812 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.