Which to use
“sentían” and “sientan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,216
- “sentían” frequency rank
- #7,233
- “sientan” frequency rank
- 23449
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sentían | sientan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sentir. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sentar. |
Where the eye mixes sentían and sientan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. sentían (CVCCVVC) and sientan (CVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses sentían with sientan
A purely visual mix-up. sentían ([sẽn̪ˈt̪iãn]) and sientan ([ˈsjẽn̪t̪ãn]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23449, 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]. sientan is at rank #7,233, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsjẽn̪t̪ãn].
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 23449, this pair ranks #245,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sentían vs sientan
Shared letters: aenst. Private to "sentían": í. Private to "sientan": i.
"sentían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "sientan" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sientan ← cientan · isentan · seintan · sienatn · sienntan · sientann · sientna · sienttan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sentían" for "sientan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sentían" or "sientan" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sentían" and "sientan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sentían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sientan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #245,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sentían" and "sientan" 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 #245,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.