subíanvssubidasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: subían is a verb, subidas is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“subían” is a verb and “subidas” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,354
“subían” frequency rank
#18,394
“subidas” frequency rank
52748
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature subían subidas
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de subir o de subirse. Forma del femenino plural de subido, participio de subir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set subían and subidas apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
subían
7 ch
subidas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: subían is [suˈβ̞iãn] while subidas is [suˈβ̞ið̞as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

subían is recorded at frequency rank #34,354, classified as averb, pronounced [suˈβ̞iãn]. subidas is at rank #18,394, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [suˈβ̞ið̞as].

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 52748, this pair ranks #91,206 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of subían vs subidas

Shared letters: absu. Private to "subían": . Private to "subidas": di.

"subían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "subidas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • subidassbuidas · ssubidas · subbidas · subdias · subiads · subidass · subiddas · subidsa

Frequency comparison

subían#34,354
subidas#18,394

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "subían" and "subidas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "subían" is a verb and "subidas" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "subían" or "subidas"?
"subidas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,394 in our Spanish list, against #34,354 for "subían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering subían vs subidas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “subían”; for a participle, it's “subidas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “subían” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list