impedíanvsimpidanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,410
“impedían” frequency rank
#29,689
“impidan” frequency rank
71099
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature impedían impidan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de impedir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de impedir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set impedían and impidan apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
impedían
7 ch
impidan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. impedían ([ĩmpeˈð̞iãn]) and impidan ([ĩmˈpið̞ãn]) 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 71099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

impedían is recorded at frequency rank #41,410, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩmpeˈð̞iãn]. impidan is at rank #29,689, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩmˈpið̞ãn].

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 71099, this pair ranks #28,240 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of impedían vs impidan

Shared letters: adimnp. Private to "impedían": . Private to "impidan": -.

"impedían" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC  ·  "impidan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • impidanimipdan · immpidan · impdian · impiadn · impidann · impiddan · impidna · imppidan

Frequency comparison

impedían#41,410
impidan#29,689

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "impedían" and "impidan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩmpeˈð̞iãn] versus [ĩmˈpið̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "impedían" or "impidan"?
"impidan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,689 in our Spanish list, against #41,410 for "impedían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering impedían vs impidan

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 “impedían” 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