valganvsvalíanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#35,804
“valgan” frequency rank
#40,063
“valían” frequency rank
75867
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature valgan valían
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de valer o de valerse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de valer o de valerse.

Where the eye mixes valgan and valían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. valgan (CVCCVC) and valían (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
valgan
6 ch
valían

Why the eye confuses valgan with valían

A purely visual mix-up. valgan ([ˈbalɣ̞ãn]) and valían ([baˈliãn]) 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 a single letter - g in “valgan” becomes í in “valían”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75867, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

valgan is recorded at frequency rank #35,804, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbalɣ̞ãn]. valían is at rank #40,063, tagged as averb, pronounced [baˈliãn].

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 75867, this pair ranks #18,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of valgan vs valían

Shared letters: alnv. Private to "valgan": g. Private to "valían": í.

"valgan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "valían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valgan ← avlgan · balgan · vaglan · valagn · valgann · valggan · valgna · vallgan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "valgan" and "valían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbalɣ̞ãn] versus [baˈliãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "valgan" vs "valían" - which ranks higher?
"valgan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,804 in our Spanish list, against #40,063 for "valían". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "valgan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "valían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #18,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "valgan" and "valían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "valían vs vallan". 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 #18,757 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