impedíavsimpedirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,389
“impedía” frequency rank
#4,432
“impedir” frequency rank
26821
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature impedía impedir
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de impedir. Estorbar, imposibilitar la ejecución de una cosa.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set impedía and impedir apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
impedía
7 ch
impedir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. impedía ([ĩmpeˈð̞ia]) and impedir ([ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ]) 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 26821, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

impedía is recorded at frequency rank #22,389, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩmpeˈð̞ia]. impedir is at rank #4,432, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ].

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 26821, this pair ranks #229,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of impedía vs impedir

Shared letters: deimp. Private to "impedía": . Private to "impedir": r.

"impedía" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV  ·  "impedir" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • impedirimepdir · immpedir · impdeir · impeddir · impedirr · impedri · impeidr · imppedir

Frequency comparison

impedía#22,389
impedir#4,432

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "impedía" and "impedir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩmpeˈð̞ia] versus [ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "impedía" or "impedir"?
"impedir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,432 in our Spanish list, against #22,389 for "impedía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering impedía vs impedir

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 “impedía” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list