sufrívssufríanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,523
“sufrí” frequency rank
#29,854
“sufrían” frequency rank
52377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sufrí sufrían
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de sufrir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sufrir.

Where the eye mixes sufrí and sufrían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sufrí runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against sufrían's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
sufrí
7 ch
sufrían

Visual trap between sufrí and sufrían

A purely visual mix-up. sufrí ([suˈfɾi]) and sufrían ([suˈfɾiãn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “sufrí” sits inside “sufrían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sufrí is recorded at frequency rank #22,523, classified as averb, pronounced [suˈfɾi]. sufrían is at rank #29,854, tagged as averb, pronounced [suˈfɾiãn].

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 52377, this pair ranks #93,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sufrí vs sufrían

Shared letters: frsuí. Private to "sufrí": -. Private to "sufrían": an.

"sufrí" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sufrían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sufrí" for "sufrían" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([suˈfɾi] versus [suˈfɾiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sufrí" vs "sufrían" - which ranks higher?
"sufrí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,523 in our Spanish list, against #29,854 for "sufrían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sufrí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sufrían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #93,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sufrí" and "sufrían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sufras vs sufrían". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #93,009 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