Which to use
“de” is a preposition and “deli” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1
- “de” frequency rank
- #49,566
- “deli” frequency rank
- 49567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | de | deli |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Indica pertenencia. | Delicioso. |
Where the eye mixes de and deli
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses de with deli
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: de is [d̪e] while deli is [ˈd̪eli]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “de” sits inside “deli”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
de is recorded at frequency rank #1, classified as aprep, pronounced [d̪e]. deli is at rank #49,566, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪eli].
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 49567, this pair ranks #108,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of de vs deli
Shared letters: de. Private to "de": -. Private to "deli": il.
"de" · 2 letters · shape CV · "deli" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deli ← ddeli · delli · dlei
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "de" and "deli" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "de" or "deli" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "de" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deli" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "de" and "deli" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deli vs Deva". 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 #108,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.