Which to use
“debe” and “dense” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #183
- “debe” frequency rank
- #42,941
- “dense” frequency rank
- 43124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debe | dense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de deber. | Segunda persona del plural (ustedes) del imperativo afirmativo de darse (con el pronombre «se» enclítico). |
Where the eye mixes debe and dense
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: debe vs dense
A purely visual mix-up. debe ([ˈd̪eβ̞e]) and dense ([ˈd̪ẽnse]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debe is recorded at frequency rank #183, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞e]. dense is at rank #42,941, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ẽnse].
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 43124, this pair ranks #144,397 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debe vs dense
Shared letters: de. Private to "debe": b. Private to "dense": ns.
"debe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dense" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "debe" and "dense" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "debe" vs "dense" - which ranks higher?
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 "debe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dense" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #144,397 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debe" and "dense" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjense vs dense". 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 #144,397 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.