Which to use
“debas” is a verb and “debidas” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,580
- “debas” frequency rank
- #22,315
- “debidas” frequency rank
- 51895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debas | debidas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de deber. | Forma del femenino plural de debido, participio de deber. |
Where the eye mixes debas and debidas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. debas runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against debidas's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses debas with debidas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debas is [ˈd̪eβ̞as] while debidas is [d̪eˈβ̞ið̞as]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debas is recorded at frequency rank #29,580, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞as]. debidas is at rank #22,315, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ið̞as].
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 51895, this pair ranks #95,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debas vs debidas
Shared letters: abdes. Private to "debas": -. Private to "debidas": i.
"debas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "debidas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "debas" and "debidas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debas" or "debidas" 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 "debas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debidas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #95,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debas" and "debidas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debas 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 #95,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.