valióvsvivióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,734
“valió” frequency rank
#4,566
“vivió” frequency rank
13300
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature valió vivió
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 pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de vivir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set valió and vivió apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
valió
5 ch
vivió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. valió ([baˈljo]) and vivió ([biˈβ̞jo]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13300, 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]. vivió is at rank #4,566, tagged as averb, pronounced [biˈβ̞jo].

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 13300, this pair ranks #288,365 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of valió vs vivió

Shared letters: ivó. Private to "valió": al. Private to "vivió": -.

"valió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "vivió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

valió#8,734
vivió#4,566

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "valió" and "vivió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([baˈljo] versus [biˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "valió" or "vivió"?
"vivió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,566 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 vivió

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