debéisvsdeberíaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#25,210
“debéis” frequency rank
#455
“debería” frequency rank
25665
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debéis debería
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de deber. Primera persona del singular (yo) del condicional de deber.

Where the eye mixes debéis and debería

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. debéis runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against debería's 7 (CVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
debéis
7 ch
debería

Look-alike desk: debéis vs debería

A purely visual mix-up. debéis ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs]) and debería ([d̪eβ̞eˈɾia]) 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 25665, 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]. debería is at rank #455, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eβ̞eˈɾia].

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 25665, this pair ranks #235,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debéis vs debería

Shared letters: bde. Private to "debéis": isé. Private to "debería": arí.

"debéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "debería" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "debéis" for "debería" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs] versus [d̪eβ̞eˈɾia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "debéis" vs "debería" - which ranks higher?
"debería" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #455 in our Spanish list, against #25,210 for "debéis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "debería" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #235,382 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "debéis" and "debería" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debéis vs debías". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #235,382 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