debasvsdemosConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#29,580
“debas” frequency rank
#9,275
“demos” frequency rank
38855
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debas demos
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de deber. Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de subjuntivo de dar o de darse.

Where the eye mixes debas and demos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. debas and demos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
debas
5 ch
demos

Why the eye confuses debas with demos

A purely visual mix-up. debas ([ˈd̪eβ̞as]) and demos ([ˈd̪emos]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38855, 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]. demos is at rank #9,275, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪emos].

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 38855, this pair ranks #167,724 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debas vs demos

Shared letters: des. Private to "debas": ab. Private to "demos": mo.

"debas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "demos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • debas ← dbeas · ddebas · deabs · debass · debbas · debsa · devas · edbas
  • demos ← ddemos · demmos · demoss · demso · deoms · dmeos · edmos

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "debas" and "demos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪eβ̞as] versus [ˈd̪emos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "debas" or "demos"?
"demos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,275 in our Spanish list, against #29,580 for "debas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "demos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #167,724 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "debas" and "demos" 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 #167,724 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