Which to use
“ocurre” and “ocurría” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,387
- “ocurre” frequency rank
- #13,302
- “ocurría” frequency rank
- 14689
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ocurre | ocurría |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ocurrir. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de ocurrir. |
Where the eye mixes ocurre and ocurría
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ocurre runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against ocurría's 7 (VCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ocurre vs ocurría
A purely visual mix-up. ocurre ([oˈkure]) and ocurría ([okuˈria]) 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 14689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ocurre is recorded at frequency rank #1,387, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈkure]. ocurría is at rank #13,302, tagged as averb, pronounced [okuˈria].
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 14689, this pair ranks #283,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ocurre vs ocurría
Shared letters: coru. Private to "ocurre": e. Private to "ocurría": aí.
"ocurre" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "ocurría" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ocurre ← courre · occurre · ocrure · ocure · ocurer · oucrre
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ocurre" and "ocurría" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ocurre" vs "ocurría" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ocurre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ocurría" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #283,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ocurre" and "ocurría" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ocurría vs ocurrían". 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 #283,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.