Which to use
“day” is a noun and “del” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,598
- “day” frequency rank
- #14
- “del” frequency rank
- 5612
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | day | del |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Día. | Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo el. |
Where the eye mixes day and del
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses day with del
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: day is /deɪ/ while del is [d̪el]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
day is recorded at frequency rank #5,598, classified as anoun, pronounced /deɪ/. del is at rank #14, tagged as acontraction, pronounced [d̪el].
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 5612, this pair ranks #313,176 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of day vs del
Shared letters: d. Private to "day": ay. Private to "del": el.
"day" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "del" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "day" and "del" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "day" vs "del" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "day" and "del" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "day" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "del" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,176 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "day" and "del" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dade vs day". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #313,176 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.