sufríavssufrirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,499
“sufría” frequency rank
#3,019
“sufrir” frequency rank
18518
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sufría sufrir
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sufrir. Sentir un malestar, un dolor, una pena, cualquier otra sensación o situación indeseada.

Where the eye mixes sufría and sufrir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
sufría
6 ch
sufrir

Why the eye confuses sufría with sufrir

A purely visual mix-up. sufría ([suˈfɾia]) and sufrir ([suˈfɾiɾ]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sufría is recorded at frequency rank #15,499, classified as averb, pronounced [suˈfɾia]. sufrir is at rank #3,019, tagged as averb, pronounced [suˈfɾiɾ].

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 18518, this pair ranks #267,597 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sufría vs sufrir

Shared letters: frsu. Private to "sufría": . Private to "sufrir": i.

"sufría" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "sufrir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sufrirsfurir · ssufrir · suffrir · sufirr · sufrirr · sufrri · sufrrir · surfir

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sufría" for "sufrir" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([suˈfɾia] versus [suˈfɾiɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sufría" vs "sufrir" - which ranks higher?
"sufrir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,019 in our Spanish list, against #15,499 for "sufría". 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 "sufría" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sufrir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #267,597 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sufría" and "sufrir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sufría vs Syria". 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 #267,597 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