respondíanvsrespondidoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,799
“respondían” frequency rank
#10,414
“respondido” frequency rank
47213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature respondían respondido
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de responder. Participio de responder.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set respondían and respondido apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
respondían
10 ch
respondido

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. respondían ([respõn̪ˈd̪iãn]) and respondido ([respõn̪ˈd̪ið̞o]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

respondían is recorded at frequency rank #36,799, classified as averb, pronounced [respõn̪ˈd̪iãn]. respondido is at rank #10,414, tagged as averb, pronounced [respõn̪ˈd̪ið̞o].

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 47213, this pair ranks #121,325 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of respondían vs respondido

Shared letters: denoprs. Private to "respondían": . Private to "respondido": i.

"respondían" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC  ·  "respondido" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • respondidoerspondido · repsondido · resopndido · respnodido · respodnido · responddido · responddio · respondiddo

Frequency comparison

respondían#36,799
respondido#10,414

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "respondían" and "respondido" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([respõn̪ˈd̪iãn] versus [respõn̪ˈd̪ið̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "respondían" or "respondido"?
"respondido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,414 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 respondían vs respondido

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 “respondían” 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