Which to use
“debates” is a noun and “debes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,986
- “debates” frequency rank
- #1,504
- “debes” frequency rank
- 6490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debates | debes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de debate. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de deber. |
Where the eye mixes debates and debes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between debates and debes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debates is [d̪eˈβ̞at̪es] while debes is [ˈd̪eβ̞es]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debates is recorded at frequency rank #4,986, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞at̪es]. debes is at rank #1,504, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞es].
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 6490, this pair ranks #310,617 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of debates vs debes
Shared letters: bdes. Private to "debates": at. Private to "debes": -.
"debates" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "debes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "debates" and "debes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "debates" or "debes"?
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 "debates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,617 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debates" and "debes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debates vs debatió". 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 #310,617 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.