Which to use
“debéis” and “debías” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,210
- “debéis” frequency rank
- #44,095
- “debías” frequency rank
- 69305
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debéis | debías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de deber. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de deber. |
Where the eye mixes debéis and debías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. debéis and debías follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses debéis with debías
A purely visual mix-up. debéis ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs]) and debías ([d̪eˈβ̞ias]) 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 69305, 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]. debías is at rank #44,095, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ias].
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 69305, this pair ranks #32,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of debéis vs debías
Shared letters: bdes. Private to "debéis": ié. Private to "debías": aí.
"debéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "debías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "debéis" and "debías" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debéis" or "debías" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "debéis" and "debías" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "debéis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debéis" and "debías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debías vs Denia". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #32,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.