veníanvsveníasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,643
“venían” frequency rank
#49,342
“venías” frequency rank
56985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature venían venías
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de venir o de venirse. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de venir o de venirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set venían and venías apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
venían
6 ch
venías

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. venían ([beˈniãn]) and venías ([beˈnias]) 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 - n in “venían” becomes s in “venías”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

venían is recorded at frequency rank #7,643, classified as averb, pronounced [beˈniãn]. venías is at rank #49,342, tagged as averb, pronounced [beˈnias].

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 56985, this pair ranks #72,321 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of venían vs venías

Shared letters: aenví. Private to "venían": -. Private to "venías": s.

"venían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "venías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequency comparison

venían#7,643
venías#49,342

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "venían" and "venías" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([beˈniãn] versus [beˈnias]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "venían" or "venías"?
"venían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,643 in our Spanish list, against #49,342 for "venías". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering venían vs venías

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 “venían” 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