Which to use
“dabas” and “debías” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,042
- “dabas” frequency rank
- #44,095
- “debías” frequency rank
- 78137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dabas | debías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de dar. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de deber. |
Where the eye mixes dabas and debías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dabas runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against debías's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between dabas and debías
A purely visual mix-up. dabas ([ˈd̪aβ̞as]) and debías ([d̪eˈβ̞ias]) 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 78137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dabas is recorded at frequency rank #34,042, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪aβ̞as]. debías is at rank #44,095, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ias].
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 78137, this pair ranks #14,907 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dabas vs debías
Shared letters: abds. Private to "dabas": -. Private to "debías": eí.
"dabas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "debías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dabas ← adbas · daabs · dabass · dabbas · dabsa · davas · dbaas · ddabas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dabas" for "debías" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dabas" vs "debías" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dabas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,907 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dabas" and "debías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debías vs Denia". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #14,907 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.