Which to use
“metía” and “metían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,897
- “metía” frequency rank
- #40,394
- “metían” frequency rank
- 59291
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | metía | metían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de meter o de meterse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de meter o de meterse. |
Where the eye mixes metía and metían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. metía runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against metían's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses metía with metían
A purely visual mix-up. metía ([meˈt̪ia]) and metían ([meˈt̪iãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “metía” sits inside “metían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
metía is recorded at frequency rank #18,897, classified as averb, pronounced [meˈt̪ia]. 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 59291, this pair ranks #63,189 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of metía vs metían
Shared letters: aemtí. Private to "metía": -. Private to "metían": n.
"metía" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "metían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "metía" for "metían" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "metía" or "metían" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "metía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,189 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "metía" and "metían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "medial vs metían". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #63,189 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.