pretendenvspretendióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,720
“pretenden” frequency rank
#28,887
“pretendió” frequency rank
35607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pretenden pretendió
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pretender. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de pretender.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
pretenden
9 ch
pretendió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pretenden ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪ẽn]) and pretendió ([pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪jo]) 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 35607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pretenden is recorded at frequency rank #6,720, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪ẽn]. pretendió is at rank #28,887, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪jo].

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 35607, this pair ranks #185,151 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pretenden vs pretendió

Shared letters: denprt. Private to "pretenden": -. Private to "pretendió": .

"pretenden" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC  ·  "pretendió" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pretendenpertenden · ppretenden · preetnden · pretednen · pretendden · pretendenn · pretendne · pretenedn

Frequency comparison

pretenden#6,720
pretendió#28,887

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pretenden" and "pretendió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeˈt̪ẽn̪d̪ẽn] versus [pɾet̪ẽn̪ˈd̪jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pretenden" or "pretendió"?
"pretenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,720 in our Spanish list, against #28,887 for "pretendió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pretenden vs pretendió

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 “pretenden” 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