ocurrióvsocurrirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,949
“ocurrió” frequency rank
#4,628
“ocurrir” frequency rank
6577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ocurrió ocurrir
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de ocurrir. Aparecer algo sin una causa determinada, producirse espontáneamente.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ocurrió and ocurrir apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ocurrió
7 ch
ocurrir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ocurrió ([okuˈrjo]) and ocurrir ([okuˈriɾ]) 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 a single letter - ó in “ocurrió” becomes r in “ocurrir”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ocurrió is recorded at frequency rank #1,949, classified as averb, pronounced [okuˈrjo]. ocurrir is at rank #4,628, tagged as averb, pronounced [okuˈriɾ].

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 6577, this pair ranks #310,358 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ocurrió vs ocurrir

Shared letters: cioru. Private to "ocurrió": ó. Private to "ocurrir": -.

"ocurrió" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV  ·  "ocurrir" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ocurrircourrir · occurrir · ocrurir · ocurir · ocurirr · ocurrirr · ocurrri · oucrrir

Frequency comparison

ocurrió#1,949
ocurrir#4,628

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ocurrió" and "ocurrir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([okuˈrjo] versus [okuˈriɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ocurrió" or "ocurrir"?
"ocurrió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,949 in our Spanish list, against #4,628 for "ocurrir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ocurrió vs ocurrir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ocurrió” 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