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 eye mixes pretenden and pretendió
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. pretenden (CCVCVCCVC) and pretendió (CCVCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: pretenden vs pretendió
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": ió.
"pretenden" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC · "pretendió" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pretenden ← pertenden · ppretenden · preetnden · pretednen · pretendden · pretendenn · pretendne · pretenedn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pretenden" and "pretendió" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pretenden" vs "pretendió" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pretenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pretendió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,151 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pretenden" and "pretendió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pretendas vs pretendió". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #185,151 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.