reducenvsreducíaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,694
“reducen” frequency rank
#42,116
“reducía” frequency rank
54810
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reducen reducía
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de reducir o de reducirse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de reducir o de reducirse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
reducen
7 ch
reducía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reducen ([reˈð̞usẽn]) and reducía ([reð̞uˈsia]) 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 54810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reducen is recorded at frequency rank #12,694, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈð̞usẽn]. reducía is at rank #42,116, tagged as averb, pronounced [reð̞uˈsia].

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 54810, this pair ranks #81,698 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of reducen vs reducía

Shared letters: cderu. Private to "reducen": n. Private to "reducía": .

"reducen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "reducía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reducenerducen · rdeucen · redcuen · redducen · reduccen · reducenn · reducne · reduecn

Frequency comparison

reducen#12,694
reducía#42,116

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reducen" and "reducía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈð̞usẽn] versus [reð̞uˈsia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reducen" or "reducía"?
"reducen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,694 in our Spanish list, against #42,116 for "reducía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reducen vs reducía

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 “reducen” 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