debéisvsdeberWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“debéis” and “deber” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,210
“debéis” frequency rank
#3,112
“deber” frequency rank
28322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debéis deber
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de deber. (seguido del infinitivo) Estar o verse obligado de hacer algo.

Where the eye mixes debéis and deber

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. debéis runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against deber's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
debéis
5 ch
deber

Visual trap between debéis and deber

A purely visual mix-up. debéis ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs]) and deber ([d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]) 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 28322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

debéis is recorded at frequency rank #25,210, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ejs]. deber is at rank #3,112, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞eɾ].

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 28322, this pair ranks #222,595 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debéis vs deber

Shared letters: bde. Private to "debéis": isé. Private to "deber": r.

"debéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "deber" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deber ← dbeer · ddeber · debber · deberr · debre · deebr · dever · edber

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "debéis" and "deber" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs] versus [d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "debéis" or "deber"?
"deber" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,112 in our Spanish list, against #25,210 for "debéis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "debéis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deber" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #222,595 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "debéis" and "deber" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debéis vs debías". 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 #222,595 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