medianavsmetíanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mediana is a noun, metían is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mediana” is a noun and “metían” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,321
“mediana” frequency rank
#40,394
“metían” frequency rank
49715
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mediana metían
Definition Barrera que separa dos sentidos en una autovía o autopista. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de meter o de meterse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
mediana
6 ch
metían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mediana is [meˈð̞jana] while metían is [meˈt̪iãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mediana is recorded at frequency rank #9,321, classified as anoun, pronounced [meˈð̞jana]. metían is at rank #40,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [meˈt̪iãn].

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 49715, this pair ranks #107,236 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mediana vs metían

Shared letters: aemn. Private to "mediana": di. Private to "metían": .

"mediana" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "metían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • medianaemdiana · mdeiana · medaina · meddiana · mediaan · medianna · medinaa · meidana

Frequency comparison

mediana#9,321
metían#40,394

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mediana" and "metían" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mediana" is a noun and "metían" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mediana" or "metían"?
"mediana" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,321 in our Spanish list, against #40,394 for "metían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mediana vs metían

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mediana”; for a verb, it's “metían”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mediana” 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