Which to use
“sentían” and “sentir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,216
- “sentían” frequency rank
- #1,157
- “sentir” frequency rank
- 17373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sentían | sentir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sentir. | Percibir por cualquiera de los sentidos, sobre todo por el tacto. |
Where the eye mixes sentían and sentir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sentían vs sentir
A purely visual mix-up. sentían ([sẽn̪ˈt̪iãn]) and sentir ([sẽn̪ˈt̪iɾ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17373, 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]. sentir is at rank #1,157, tagged as averb, pronounced [sẽn̪ˈt̪iɾ].
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 17373, this pair ranks #272,402 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sentían vs sentir
Shared letters: enst. Private to "sentían": aí. Private to "sentir": ir.
"sentían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "sentir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sentir ← centir · esntir · senitr · senntir · sentirr · sentri · senttir · setnir
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sentían" for "sentir" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sentían" or "sentir" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "sentir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #272,402 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sentían" and "sentir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sentían vs sentidas". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #272,402 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.