vendíavsvendióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,732
“vendía” frequency rank
#7,374
“vendió” frequency rank
22106
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vendía vendió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de vender o de venderse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de vender o de venderse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vendía and vendió apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
vendía
6 ch
vendió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vendía ([bẽn̪ˈd̪ia]) and vendió ([bẽn̪ˈd̪jo]) 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 22106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vendía is recorded at frequency rank #14,732, classified as averb, pronounced [bẽn̪ˈd̪ia]. vendió is at rank #7,374, tagged as averb, pronounced [bẽn̪ˈd̪jo].

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 22106, this pair ranks #251,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vendía vs vendió

Shared letters: denv. Private to "vendía": . Private to "vendió": .

"vendía" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "vendió" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

vendía#14,732
vendió#7,374

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vendía" and "vendió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bẽn̪ˈd̪ia] versus [bẽn̪ˈd̪jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vendía" or "vendió"?
"vendió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,374 in our Spanish list, against #14,732 for "vendía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vendía vs vendió

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 “vendía” 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