Which to use
“respondí” and “respondía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,224
- “respondí” frequency rank
- #16,969
- “respondía” frequency rank
- 31193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | respondí | respondía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de responder. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de responder. |
Where the eye mixes respondí and respondía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. respondí runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against respondía's 9 (CVCCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: respondí vs respondía
A purely visual mix-up. respondí ([respõn̪ˈd̪i]) and respondía ([respõn̪ˈd̪ia]) 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) - “respondí” sits inside “respondía”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
respondí is recorded at frequency rank #14,224, classified as averb, pronounced [respõn̪ˈd̪i]. respondía is at rank #16,969, tagged as averb, pronounced [respõn̪ˈd̪ia].
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 31193, this pair ranks #208,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of respondí vs respondía
Shared letters: denoprsí. Private to "respondí": -. Private to "respondía": a.
"respondí" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "respondía" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "respondí" and "respondía" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "respondí" vs "respondía" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "respondí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "respondía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #208,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "respondí" and "respondía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "respondía vs respondiera". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #208,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.