sufrióvssurgióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,200
“sufrió” frequency rank
#4,838
“surgió” frequency rank
9038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sufrió surgió
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de sufrir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de surgir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sufrió and surgió apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
sufrió
6 ch
surgió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sufrió ([suˈfɾjo]) and surgió ([suɾˈxjo]) 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 9038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sufrió is recorded at frequency rank #4,200, classified as averb, pronounced [suˈfɾjo]. surgió is at rank #4,838, tagged as averb, pronounced [suɾˈxjo].

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 9038, this pair ranks #303,156 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sufrió vs surgió

Shared letters: irsuó. Private to "sufrió": f. Private to "surgió": g.

"sufrió" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "surgió" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

sufrió#4,200
surgió#4,838

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sufrió" and "surgió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([suˈfɾjo] versus [suɾˈxjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sufrió" or "surgió"?
"sufrió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,200 in our Spanish list, against #4,838 for "surgió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sufrió vs surgió

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sufrió” 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