llovíavsllovióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,422
“llovía” frequency rank
#30,984
“llovió” frequency rank
62406
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llovía llovió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llover. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de llover.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
llovía
6 ch
llovió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. llovía ([ʝoˈβ̞ia]) and llovió ([ʝoˈβ̞jo]) 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 62406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llovía is recorded at frequency rank #31,422, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝoˈβ̞ia]. llovió is at rank #30,984, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝoˈβ̞jo].

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 62406, this pair ranks #52,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of llovía vs llovió

Shared letters: lov. Private to "llovía": . Private to "llovió": .

"llovía" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV  ·  "llovió" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Frequency comparison

llovía#31,422
llovió#30,984

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llovía" and "llovió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʝoˈβ̞ia] versus [ʝoˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llovía" or "llovió"?
"llovió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,984 in our Spanish list, against #31,422 for "llovía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering llovía vs llovió

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 “llovía” 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