permitíavspermitíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,292
“permitía” frequency rank
#17,787
“permitían” frequency rank
26079
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature permitía permitían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto 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 permitía and permitían apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
permitía
9 ch
permitían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. permitía ([peɾmiˈt̪ia]) 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 extra letter(s) - “permitía” sits inside “permitían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

permitía is recorded at frequency rank #8,292, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾmiˈt̪ia]. 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 26079, this pair ranks #233,428 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of permitía vs permitían

Shared letters: aeimprtí. Private to "permitía": -. Private to "permitían": n.

"permitía" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "permitían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

permitía#8,292
permitían#17,787

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "permitía" and "permitían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peɾmiˈt̪ia] versus [peɾmiˈt̪iãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "permitía" or "permitían"?
"permitía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,292 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 permitía 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 “permitía” 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