preguntamosvspreguntaronWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,120
“preguntamos” frequency rank
#8,298
“preguntaron” frequency rank
21418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preguntamos preguntaron
Definition Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de indicativo de preguntar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de preguntar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set preguntamos and preguntaron apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
preguntamos
11 ch
preguntaron

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. preguntamos ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪amos]) and preguntaron ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾõn]) 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 21418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preguntamos is recorded at frequency rank #13,120, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪amos]. preguntaron is at rank #8,298, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾõn].

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 21418, this pair ranks #255,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of preguntamos vs preguntaron

Shared letters: aegnoprtu. Private to "preguntamos": ms. Private to "preguntaron": -.

"preguntamos" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCVC  ·  "preguntaron" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preguntamosperguntamos · ppreguntamos · pregguntamos · pregnutamos · pregunatmos · pregunntamos · preguntammos · preguntamoss
  • preguntaronperguntaron · ppreguntaron · pregguntaron · pregnutaron · pregunatron · pregunntaron · preguntaorn · preguntarno

Frequency comparison

preguntamos#13,120
preguntaron#8,298

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preguntamos" and "preguntaron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪amos] versus [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preguntamos" or "preguntaron"?
"preguntaron" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,298 in our Spanish list, against #13,120 for "preguntamos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering preguntamos vs preguntaron

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 “preguntamos” 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