Which to use
“ocurran” and “ocurrían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,421
- “ocurran” frequency rank
- #43,749
- “ocurrían” frequency rank
- 65170
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ocurran | ocurrían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de ocurrir. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de ocurrir. |
Where the eye mixes ocurran and ocurrían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ocurran runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against ocurrían's 8 (VCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ocurran with ocurrían
A purely visual mix-up. ocurran ([oˈkurãn]) and ocurrían ([okuˈriãn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ocurran is recorded at frequency rank #21,421, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈkurãn]. ocurrían is at rank #43,749, tagged as averb, pronounced [okuˈriãn].
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 65170, this pair ranks #43,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ocurran vs ocurrían
Shared letters: acnoru. Private to "ocurran": -. Private to "ocurrían": í.
"ocurran" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "ocurrían" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ocurran ← courran · occurran · ocruran · ocuran · ocurarn · ocurrann · ocurrna · oucrran
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ocurran" and "ocurrían" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ocurran" vs "ocurrían" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ocurran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ocurrían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ocurran" and "ocurrían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ocurrían vs ocurridas". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #43,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.