recorríavsrecorríanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,221
“recorría” frequency rank
#46,165
“recorrían” frequency rank
81386
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recorría recorrían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de recorrer. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de recorrer.

Where the eye mixes recorría and recorrían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
recorría
9 ch
recorrían

Visual trap between recorría and recorrían

A purely visual mix-up. recorría ([rekoˈria]) and recorrían ([rekoˈriãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “recorría” sits inside “recorrían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recorría is recorded at frequency rank #35,221, classified as averb, pronounced [rekoˈria]. recorrían is at rank #46,165, tagged as averb, pronounced [rekoˈriãn].

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 81386, this pair ranks #10,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of recorría vs recorrían

Shared letters: aceorí. Private to "recorría": -. Private to "recorrían": n.

"recorría" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV  ·  "recorrían" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "recorría" and "recorrían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([rekoˈria] versus [rekoˈriãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "recorría" or "recorrían" show up more?
"recorría" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,221 in our Spanish list, against #46,165 for "recorrían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "recorría" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recorrían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #10,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recorría" and "recorrían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recorrían vs recortan". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #10,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list