impedirvsimpidióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,432
“impedir” frequency rank
#10,682
“impidió” frequency rank
15114
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature impedir impidió
Definition Estorbar, imposibilitar la ejecución de una cosa. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de impedir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
impedir
7 ch
impidió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. impedir ([ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ]) and impidió ([ĩmpiˈð̞jo]) 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 15114, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

impedir is recorded at frequency rank #4,432, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ]. impidió is at rank #10,682, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩmpiˈð̞jo].

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 15114, this pair ranks #281,467 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of impedir vs impidió

Shared letters: dimp. Private to "impedir": er. Private to "impidió": ó.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

impedir#4,432
impidió#10,682

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "impedir" and "impidió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩmpeˈð̞iɾ] versus [ĩmpiˈð̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "impedir" or "impidió"?
"impedir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,432 in our Spanish list, against #10,682 for "impidió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering impedir vs impidió

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 “impedir” 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