respondívsrespondíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,224
“respondí” frequency rank
#36,799
“respondían” frequency rank
51023
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature respondí respondían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de responder. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de responder.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set respondí and respondían apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
respondí
10 ch
respondían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. respondí ([respõn̪ˈd̪i]) and respondían ([respõn̪ˈd̪iãn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “respondí” sits inside “respondían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51023, 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]. respondían is at rank #36,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [respõn̪ˈd̪iãn].

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 51023, this pair ranks #100,108 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of respondí vs respondían

Shared letters: denoprsí. Private to "respondí": -. Private to "respondían": a.

"respondí" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "respondían" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC

Frequency comparison

respondí#14,224
respondían#36,799

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "respondí" and "respondían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([respõn̪ˈd̪i] versus [respõn̪ˈd̪iãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "respondí" or "respondían"?
"respondí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,224 in our Spanish list, against #36,799 for "respondían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering respondí vs respondían

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 “respondí” 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