debavsdellaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deba is a verb, della is a contraction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deba” is a verb and “della” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,944
“deba” frequency rank
#9,968
“della” frequency rank
15912
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deba della
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de deber. Contracción de la preposición de y el pronombre ella.

Where the eye mixes deba and della

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
deba
5 ch
della

Look-alike desk: deba vs della

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deba is [ˈd̪eβ̞a] while della is [ˈd̪eʝa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15912, 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]. della is at rank #9,968, tagged as acontraction, pronounced [ˈd̪eʝa].

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 15912, this pair ranks #278,268 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of deba vs della

Shared letters: ade. Private to "deba": b. Private to "della": l.

"deba" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "della" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • debadbea · ddeba · deab · debba · edba
  • delladdella · delal · dlela · edlla

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "deba" and "della" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deba" is a verb and "della" a contraction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deba" or "della"?
"deba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,944 in our Spanish list, against #9,968 for "della". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "deba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "della" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #278,268 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deba" and "della" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "della 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 #278,268 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