Which to use
“valían” and “variar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,063
- “valían” frequency rank
- #8,330
- “variar” frequency rank
- 48393
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | valían | variar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de valer o de valerse. | Cambiar el estado, la forma o la composición de una cosa. |
Where the eye mixes valían and variar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. valían and variar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between valían and variar
A purely visual mix-up. valían ([baˈliãn]) and variar ([baˈɾjaɾ]) 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 48393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
valían is recorded at frequency rank #40,063, classified as averb, pronounced [baˈliãn]. variar is at rank #8,330, tagged as averb, pronounced [baˈɾjaɾ].
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 48393, this pair ranks #114,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of valían vs variar
Shared letters: av. Private to "valían": lní. Private to "variar": ir.
"valían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "variar" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- variar ← avriar · bariar · vairar · varair · variarr · varira · varriar · vraiar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "valían" for "variar" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "valían" or "variar" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "valían" and "variar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "valían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "variar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #114,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "valían" and "variar" 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 #114,731 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.