vivióvsvolvióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,566
“vivió” frequency rank
#1,364
“volvió” frequency rank
5930
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vivió volvió
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de vivir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de volver o de volverse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
vivió
6 ch
volvió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vivió ([biˈβ̞jo]) and volvió ([bolˈβ̞jo]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vivió is recorded at frequency rank #4,566, classified as averb, pronounced [biˈβ̞jo]. volvió is at rank #1,364, tagged as averb, pronounced [bolˈβ̞jo].

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 5930, this pair ranks #312,261 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vivió vs volvió

Shared letters: ivó. Private to "vivió": -. Private to "volvió": lo.

"vivió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "volvió" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

vivió#4,566
volvió#1,364

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vivió" and "volvió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([biˈβ̞jo] versus [bolˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vivió" or "volvió"?
"volvió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,364 in our Spanish list, against #4,566 for "vivió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vivió vs volvió

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 “vivió” 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