metíanvsmovíanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#40,394
“metían” frequency rank
#32,302
“movían” frequency rank
72696
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metían movían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) 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 mover.

Where the eye mixes metían and movían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
metían
6 ch
movían

Why the eye confuses metían with movían

A purely visual mix-up. metían ([meˈt̪iãn]) and movían ([moˈβ̞iãn]) 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 72696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metían is recorded at frequency rank #40,394, classified as averb, pronounced [meˈt̪iãn]. movían is at rank #32,302, tagged as averb, pronounced [moˈβ̞iãn].

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 72696, this pair ranks #24,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of metían vs movían

Shared letters: amní. Private to "metían": et. Private to "movían": ov.

"metían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "movían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "metían" for "movían" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([meˈt̪iãn] versus [moˈβ̞iãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "metían" vs "movían" - which ranks higher?
"movían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,302 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.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "metían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "movían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #24,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metían" and "movían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "medial vs metían". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #24,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list