vaciarvsvaríanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,894
“vaciar” frequency rank
#10,241
“varían” frequency rank
33135
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vaciar varían
Definition Retirar el interior o contenido de algo. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de variar.

Where the eye mixes vaciar and varían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. vaciar and varían follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
vaciar
6 ch
varían

Visual trap between vaciar and varían

A purely visual mix-up. vaciar ([baˈsjaɾ]) and varían ([baˈɾiãn]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vaciar is recorded at frequency rank #22,894, classified as averb, pronounced [baˈsjaɾ]. varían is at rank #10,241, tagged as averb, pronounced [baˈɾiãn].

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 33135, this pair ranks #198,415 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vaciar vs varían

Shared letters: arv. Private to "vaciar": ci. Private to "varían": ní.

"vaciar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "varían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vaciar ← avciar · baciar · vacair · vacciar · vaciarr · vacira · vaicar · vasiar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vaciar" and "varían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([baˈsjaɾ] versus [baˈɾiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vaciar" or "varían"?
"varían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,241 in our Spanish list, against #22,894 for "vaciar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "vaciar" and "varían" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vaciar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "varían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #198,415 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vaciar" and "varían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vaciar vs vacila". 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 #198,415 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