recibavsrecibióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,704
“reciba” frequency rank
#1,559
“recibió” frequency rank
10263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reciba recibió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de recibir o de recibirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de recibir o de recibirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reciba and recibió apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
reciba
7 ch
recibió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reciba ([reˈsiβ̞a]) and recibió ([resiˈβ̞jo]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reciba is recorded at frequency rank #8,704, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈsiβ̞a]. recibió is at rank #1,559, tagged as averb, pronounced [resiˈβ̞jo].

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 10263, this pair ranks #299,252 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of reciba vs recibió

Shared letters: bceir. Private to "reciba": a. Private to "recibió": ó.

"reciba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "recibió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recibaerciba · rceiba · recbia · recciba · reciab · recibba · reciva · reicba

Frequency comparison

reciba#8,704
recibió#1,559

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reciba" and "recibió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈsiβ̞a] versus [resiˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reciba" or "recibió"?
"recibió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,559 in our Spanish list, against #8,704 for "reciba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reciba vs recibió

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 “reciba” 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