vigíavsvivísWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,154
“vigía” frequency rank
#28,198
“vivís” frequency rank
59352
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vigía vivís
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de vigiar. Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de indicativo de vivir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
vigía
5 ch
vivís

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vigía ([biˈxia]) and vivís ([biˈβ̞is]) 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 59352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vigía is recorded at frequency rank #31,154, classified as averb, pronounced [biˈxia]. vivís is at rank #28,198, tagged as averb, pronounced [biˈβ̞is].

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 59352, this pair ranks #62,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vigía vs vivís

Shared letters: iví. Private to "vigía": ag. Private to "vivís": s.

"vigía" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "vivís" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

vigía#31,154
vivís#28,198

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vigía" and "vivís" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([biˈxia] versus [biˈβ̞is]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vigía" or "vivís"?
"vivís" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,198 in our Spanish list, against #31,154 for "vigía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vigía vs vivís

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 “vigía” 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