debatevsdelataWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: debate is a noun, delata is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“debate” is a noun and “delata” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,263
“debate” frequency rank
#30,855
“delata” frequency rank
32118
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debate delata
Definition Discusión de diversas posturas u opiniones, especialmente si son opuestas o contrapuestas. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de delatar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set debate and delata apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
debate
6 ch
delata

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debate is [d̪eˈβ̞at̪e] while delata is [d̪eˈlat̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

debate is recorded at frequency rank #1,263, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞at̪e]. delata is at rank #30,855, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈlat̪a].

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 32118, this pair ranks #203,664 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debate vs delata

Shared letters: adet. Private to "debate": b. Private to "delata": l.

"debate" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "delata" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • debatedbeate · ddebate · deabte · debaet · debatte · debbate · debtae · devate
  • delataddelata · dealta · delaat · delatta · dellata · deltaa · dleata · edlata

Frequency comparison

debate#1,263
delata#30,855

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "debate" and "delata" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "debate" is a noun and "delata" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "debate" or "delata"?
"debate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,263 in our Spanish list, against #30,855 for "delata". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering debate vs delata

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “debate”; for a verb, it's “delata”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “debate” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list