padecervspadecíaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,678
“padecer” frequency rank
#26,951
“padecía” frequency rank
42629
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature padecer padecía
Definition Sufrir un daño de cualquier clase, como una carga, un mal o una enfermedad Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de padecer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set padecer and padecía apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
padecer
7 ch
padecía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. padecer ([pað̞eˈseɾ]) and padecía ([pað̞eˈsia]) 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 42629, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

padecer is recorded at frequency rank #15,678, classified as averb, pronounced [pað̞eˈseɾ]. padecía is at rank #26,951, tagged as averb, pronounced [pað̞eˈsia].

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 42629, this pair ranks #147,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of padecer vs padecía

Shared letters: acdep. Private to "padecer": r. Private to "padecía": í.

"padecer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "padecía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • padecerapdecer · padceer · paddecer · padeccer · padecerr · padecre · padeecr · padeser

Frequency comparison

padecer#15,678
padecía#26,951

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "padecer" and "padecía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pað̞eˈseɾ] versus [pað̞eˈsia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "padecer" or "padecía"?
"padecer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,678 in our Spanish list, against #26,951 for "padecía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering padecer vs padecía

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 “padecer” 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