debéisvsdejéisConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#25,210
“debéis” frequency rank
#27,179
“dejéis” frequency rank
52389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debéis dejéis
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de deber. Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de subjuntivo de dejar o de dejarse.

Where the eye mixes debéis and dejéis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. debéis and dejéis follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
debéis
6 ch
dejéis

Visual trap between debéis and dejéis

A purely visual mix-up. debéis ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs]) and dejéis ([d̪eˈxejs]) 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 a single letter - b in “debéis” becomes j in “dejéis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52389, 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]. dejéis is at rank #27,179, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈxejs].

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 52389, this pair ranks #92,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debéis vs dejéis

Shared letters: deisé. Private to "debéis": b. Private to "dejéis": j.

"debéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "dejéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "debéis" for "dejéis" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈβ̞ejs] versus [d̪eˈxejs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "debéis" vs "dejéis" - which ranks higher?
"debéis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,210 in our Spanish list, against #27,179 for "dejéis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "dejéis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #92,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "debéis" and "dejéis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dejéis vs déjense". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #92,948 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