debasvsdetrásWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: debas is a verb, detrás is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“debas” is a verb and “detrás” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,580
“debas” frequency rank
#1,083
“detrás” frequency rank
30663
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debas detrás
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de deber. Que está o que ocurre en la parte posterior o en la parte que queda a espaldas de algo o alguien

Where the eye mixes debas and detrás

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

5 ch
debas
6 ch
detrás

Look-alike desk: debas vs detrás

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debas is [ˈd̪eβ̞as] while detrás is [d̪eˈt̪ɾas]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30663, 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]. detrás is at rank #1,083, tagged as anadv, pronounced [d̪eˈt̪ɾas].

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 30663, this pair ranks #210,892 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debas vs detrás

Shared letters: des. Private to "debas": ab. Private to "detrás": rtá.

"debas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "detrás" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • debasdbeas · ddebas · deabs · debass · debbas · debsa · devas · edbas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "debas" and "detrás" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "debas" is a verb and "detrás" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "debas" or "detrás"?
"detrás" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,083 in our Spanish list, against #29,580 for "debas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "debas" and "detrás" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "debas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "detrás" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #210,892 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "debas" and "detrás" 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 #210,892 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