olvidanvsolvidenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,720
“olvidan” frequency rank
#10,390
“olviden” frequency rank
21110
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature olvidan olviden
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de olvidar o de olvidarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de olvidar o de olvidarse.

Where the eye mixes olvidan and olviden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
olvidan
7 ch
olviden

Why the eye confuses olvidan with olviden

A purely visual mix-up. olvidan ([olˈβ̞ið̞ãn]) and olviden ([olˈβ̞ið̞ẽn]) 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 - a in “olvidan” becomes e in “olviden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

olvidan is recorded at frequency rank #10,720, classified as averb, pronounced [olˈβ̞ið̞ãn]. olviden is at rank #10,390, tagged as averb, pronounced [olˈβ̞ið̞ẽn].

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 21110, this pair ranks #256,368 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of olvidan vs olviden

Shared letters: dilnov. Private to "olvidan": a. Private to "olviden": e.

"olvidan" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "olviden" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • olvidanlovidan · olbidan · olivdan · ollvidan · olvdian · olviadn · olvidann · olviddan
  • olvidenloviden · olbiden · olivden · ollviden · olvdien · olvidden · olvidenn · olvidne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "olvidan" and "olviden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([olˈβ̞ið̞ãn] versus [olˈβ̞ið̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "olvidan" or "olviden"?
"olviden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,390 in our Spanish list, against #10,720 for "olvidan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "olvidan" and "olviden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "olvidan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "olviden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #256,368 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "olvidan" and "olviden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "olviden vs olvídense". 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 #256,368 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