recibióvsrecibirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,559
“recibió” frequency rank
#1,272
“recibir” frequency rank
2831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recibió recibir
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de recibir o de recibirse. Tomar alguien algo que se le da o se le envía.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set recibió and recibir apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
recibió
7 ch
recibir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recibió ([resiˈβ̞jo]) and recibir ([resiˈβ̞iɾ]) 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 a single letter - ó in “recibió” becomes r in “recibir”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recibió is recorded at frequency rank #1,559, classified as averb, pronounced [resiˈβ̞jo]. recibir is at rank #1,272, tagged as averb, pronounced [resiˈβ̞iɾ].

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 2831, this pair ranks #319,565 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of recibió vs recibir

Shared letters: bceir. Private to "recibió": ó. Private to "recibir": -.

"recibió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "recibir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recibirercibir · rceibir · recbiir · reccibir · recibbir · recibirr · recibri · reciibr

Frequency comparison

recibió#1,559
recibir#1,272

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recibió" and "recibir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([resiˈβ̞jo] versus [resiˈβ̞iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recibió" or "recibir"?
"recibir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,272 in our Spanish list, against #1,559 for "recibió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recibió vs recibir

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 “recibió” 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