Which to use
“sentían” and “sentías” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,216
- “sentían” frequency rank
- #42,691
- “sentías” frequency rank
- 58907
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sentían | sentías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sentir. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sentir. |
Where the eye mixes sentían and sentías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. sentían and sentías follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses sentían with sentías
A purely visual mix-up. sentían ([sẽn̪ˈt̪iãn]) and sentías ([sẽn̪ˈt̪ias]) 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 a single letter - n in “sentían” becomes s in “sentías”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sentían is recorded at frequency rank #16,216, classified as averb, pronounced [sẽn̪ˈt̪iãn]. sentías is at rank #42,691, tagged as averb, pronounced [sẽn̪ˈt̪ias].
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 58907, this pair ranks #64,655 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sentían vs sentías
Shared letters: aenstí. Private to "sentían": -. Private to "sentías": -.
"sentían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "sentías" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sentían" for "sentías" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sentían" vs "sentías" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sentían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sentías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,655 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sentían" and "sentías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sentías vs sentidas". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #64,655 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.