permitíanvspermitieranWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,787
“permitían” frequency rank
#33,273
“permitieran” frequency rank
51060
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set permitían and permitieran apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
permitían
11 ch
permitieran

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. permitían ([peɾmiˈt̪iãn]) and permitieran ([peɾmiˈt̪jeɾãn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

permitían is recorded at frequency rank #17,787, classified as averb, pronounced [peɾmiˈt̪iãn]. permitieran is at rank #33,273, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾmiˈt̪jeɾãn].

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 51060, this pair ranks #99,882 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of permitían vs permitieran

Shared letters: aeimnprt. Private to "permitían": í. Private to "permitieran": -.

"permitían" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC  ·  "permitieran" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • permitieraneprmitieran · pemritieran · perimtieran · permiiteran · permiteiran · permitiearn · permitierann · permitierna

Frequency comparison

permitían#17,787
permitieran#33,273

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "permitían" and "permitieran" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peɾmiˈt̪iãn] versus [peɾmiˈt̪jeɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "permitían" or "permitieran"?
"permitían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,787 in our Spanish list, against #33,273 for "permitieran". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering permitían vs permitieran

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 “permitían” 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