Which to use
“reciben” and “recibían” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,513
- “reciben” frequency rank
- #16,191
- “recibían” frequency rank
- 19704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reciben | recibían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recibir o de recibirse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de recibir o de recibirse. |
Where the eye mixes reciben and recibían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reciben with recibían
A purely visual mix-up. reciben ([reˈsiβ̞ẽn]) and recibían ([resiˈβ̞iãn]) 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 19704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reciben is recorded at frequency rank #3,513, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈsiβ̞ẽn]. recibían is at rank #16,191, tagged as averb, pronounced [resiˈβ̞iãn].
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 19704, this pair ranks #262,552 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reciben vs recibían
Shared letters: bceinr. Private to "reciben": -. Private to "recibían": aí.
"reciben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "recibían" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reciben ← erciben · rceiben · recbien · recciben · recibben · recibenn · recibne · reciebn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reciben" and "recibían" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "reciben" vs "recibían" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "reciben" and "recibían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "reciben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "recibían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,552 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reciben" and "recibían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recibían vs recogían". 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 #262,552 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.