partíanvspartirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,847
“partían” frequency rank
#579
“partir” frequency rank
50426
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature partían partir
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de partir o de partirse. Hacer divisiones en un todo, de tal modo de separarlo en partes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set partían and partir apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
partían
6 ch
partir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. partían ([paɾˈt̪iãn]) and partir ([paɾˈt̪iɾ]) 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 50426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

partían is recorded at frequency rank #49,847, classified as averb, pronounced [paɾˈt̪iãn]. partir is at rank #579, tagged as averb, pronounced [paɾˈt̪iɾ].

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 50426, this pair ranks #103,269 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of partían vs partir

Shared letters: aprt. Private to "partían": . Private to "partir": i.

"partían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "partir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • partiraprtir · paritr · parrtir · partirr · partri · parttir · patrir · ppartir

Frequency comparison

partían#49,847
partir#579

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "partían" and "partir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([paɾˈt̪iãn] versus [paɾˈt̪iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "partían" or "partir"?
"partir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #579 in our Spanish list, against #49,847 for "partían". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering partían vs partir

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 “partían” 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