debavsdebutaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“deba” and “debuta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,944
“deba” frequency rank
#26,791
“debuta” frequency rank
32735
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deba debuta
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de deber. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de debutar.

Where the eye mixes deba and debuta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
deba
6 ch
debuta

Visual trap between deba and debuta

A purely visual mix-up. deba ([ˈd̪eβ̞a]) and debuta ([d̪eˈβ̞ut̪a]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32735, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deba is recorded at frequency rank #5,944, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞a]. debuta is at rank #26,791, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ut̪a].

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 32735, this pair ranks #200,469 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deba vs debuta

Shared letters: abde. Private to "deba": -. Private to "debuta": tu.

"deba" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "debuta" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • debadbea · ddeba · deab · debba · edba
  • debutadbeuta · ddebuta · debbuta · debtua · debuat · debutta · deubta · devuta

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "deba" and "debuta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪eβ̞a] versus [d̪eˈβ̞ut̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "deba" vs "debuta" - which ranks higher?
"deba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,944 in our Spanish list, against #26,791 for "debuta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "deba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "debuta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #200,469 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deba" and "debuta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debuta vs devota". 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 #200,469 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list