Which to use
“debe” and “decí” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #183
- “debe” frequency rank
- #42,935
- “decí” frequency rank
- 43118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debe | decí |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de deber. | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del imperativo afirmativo de decir. |
Where the eye mixes debe and decí
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. debe and decí follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses debe with decí
A purely visual mix-up. debe ([ˈd̪eβ̞e]) and decí ([d̪eˈsi]) 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 43118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debe is recorded at frequency rank #183, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞e]. decí is at rank #42,935, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsi].
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 43118, this pair ranks #144,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debe vs decí
Shared letters: de. Private to "debe": b. Private to "decí": cí.
"debe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "decí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- debe ← dbee · ddebe · debbe · deeb · deve · edbe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "debe" for "decí" ever safe?
Frequency check: "debe" vs "decí" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "debe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #144,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debe" and "decí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decí 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 #144,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.