Which to use
“vai” and “varía” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,008
- “vai” frequency rank
- #8,449
- “varía” frequency rank
- 47457
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vai | varía |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (el, ela, vostede) del presente de indicativo de ir. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de variar. |
Where the eye mixes vai and varía
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. vai runs 3 letters (CVV) against varía's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: vai vs varía
A purely visual mix-up. vai ([ˈba̠j]) and varía ([baˈɾia]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vai is recorded at frequency rank #39,008, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈba̠j]. varía is at rank #8,449, tagged as averb, pronounced [baˈɾia].
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 47457, this pair ranks #119,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vai vs varía
Shared letters: av. Private to "vai": i. Private to "varía": rí.
"vai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "varía" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vai" and "varía" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vai" or "varía" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "vai" and "varía" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "varía" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vai" and "varía" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vai vs VOR". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #119,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.