Which to use
“dead” is an adjective and “decí” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,749
- “dead” frequency rank
- #42,935
- “decí” frequency rank
- 54684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dead | decí |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Muerto. | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del imperativo afirmativo de decir. |
Where the eye mixes dead and decí
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dead vs decí
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dead is /dɛd/ while decí is [d̪eˈsi]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dead is recorded at frequency rank #11,749, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɛd/. decí is at rank #42,935, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsi].
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 54684, this pair ranks #82,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dead vs decí
Shared letters: de. Private to "dead": a. Private to "decí": cí.
"dead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "decí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- dead ← daed · ddead · deadd · deda
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dead" and "decí" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dead" vs "decí" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "dead" and "decí" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #82,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dead" and "decí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decí 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 #82,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.