permitenvspermitíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,739
“permiten” frequency rank
#17,787
“permitían” frequency rank
20526
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature permiten permitían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de permitir o de permitirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de permitir o de permitirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set permiten and permitían apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
permiten
9 ch
permitían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. permiten ([peɾˈmit̪ẽn]) and permitían ([peɾmiˈt̪iãn]) 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 20526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

permiten is recorded at frequency rank #2,739, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾˈmit̪ẽn]. permitían is at rank #17,787, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾmiˈt̪iãn].

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 20526, this pair ranks #258,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of permiten vs permitían

Shared letters: eimnprt. Private to "permiten": -. Private to "permitían": .

"permiten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "permitían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • permiteneprmiten · pemriten · perimten · permietn · permitenn · permitne · permitten · permmiten

Frequency comparison

permiten#2,739
permitían#17,787

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "permiten" and "permitían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peɾˈmit̪ẽn] versus [peɾmiˈt̪iãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "permiten" or "permitían"?
"permiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,739 in our Spanish list, against #17,787 for "permitían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering permiten vs permitían

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 “permiten” 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