valióvsvaríaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,734
“valió” frequency rank
#8,449
“varía” frequency rank
17183
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature valió varía
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de valer o de valerse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de variar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set valió and varía apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
valió
5 ch
varía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. valió ([baˈljo]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

valió is recorded at frequency rank #8,734, classified as averb, pronounced [baˈljo]. 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 17183, this pair ranks #273,216 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of valió vs varía

Shared letters: av. Private to "valió": iló. Private to "varía": .

"valió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "varía" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

valió#8,734
varía#8,449

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "valió" and "varía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([baˈljo] versus [baˈɾia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "valió" or "varía"?
"varía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,449 in our Spanish list, against #8,734 for "valió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering valió vs varía

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 “valió” 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