Which to use
“d” is a character and “de” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #262
- “d” frequency rank
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- 263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | d | de |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cuarta letra del alfabeto español. Su nombre es de. | Indica pertenencia. |
Same sound, different letters: d vs de
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 1 letter.
Ear matches; page differs - d and de
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: d and de carry the same recorded pronunciation, [d̪e]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is acharacter, the other apreposition, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “d” sits inside “de”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
d is recorded at frequency rank #262, classified as acharacter, pronounced [d̪e]. de is at rank #1, tagged as aprep, pronounced [d̪e].
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 263, this pair ranks #323,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of d vs de
Shared letters: d. Private to "d": -. Private to "de": e.
"d" · 1 letters · shape C · "de" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "d" and "de" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "d" or "de" show up more?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "d" / "de". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "d" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "de" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "d" and "de" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "de vs Deva". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #323,602 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.