subíanvssubísWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,354
“subían” frequency rank
#49,955
“subís” frequency rank
84309
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature subían subís
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de subir o de subirse. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de subir o de subirse.

Where the eye mixes subían and subís

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. subían runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against subís's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
subían
5 ch
subís

Why the eye confuses subían with subís

A purely visual mix-up. subían ([suˈβ̞iãn]) and subís ([suˈβ̞is]) 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 84309, 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]. subís is at rank #49,955, tagged as averb, pronounced [suˈβ̞is].

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 84309, this pair ranks #7,181 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of subían vs subís

Shared letters: bsuí. Private to "subían": an. Private to "subís": -.

"subían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "subís" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "subían" and "subís" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([suˈβ̞iãn] versus [suˈβ̞is]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "subían" vs "subís" - which ranks higher?
"subían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,354 in our Spanish list, against #49,955 for "subís". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "subían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "subís" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #7,181 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "subían" and "subís" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "subís vs Suis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #7,181 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list