This is the 3920th most frequent Spanish word.
vivían
"Vivían" means "they lived" or "you (plural) lived" in the past.
The word 'vivían' is the third person plural form of the verb 'vivir' in the imperfect tense, indicating a past, habitual action.
Cuando eran jóvenes, vivían en una aldea pequeña.
When they were young, they lived in a small village.
Here, 'vivían' describes a past situation that was ongoing before another event occurred.
Antes de mudarse a la ciudad, vivían junto al río.
Before moving to the city, they lived by the river.
In this sentence, 'vivían' suggests a repeated action during specific periods in the past.