Which to use
“deber” and “debí” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,112
- “deber” frequency rank
- #14,811
- “debí” frequency rank
- 17923
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deber | debí |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (seguido del infinitivo) Estar o verse obligado de hacer algo. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber. |
Where the eye mixes deber and debí
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. deber runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against debí's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between deber and debí
A purely visual mix-up. deber ([d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]) and debí ([d̪eˈβ̞i]) 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 17923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deber is recorded at frequency rank #3,112, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞eɾ]. debí is at rank #14,811, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞i].
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 17923, this pair ranks #270,071 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deber vs debí
Shared letters: bde. Private to "deber": r. Private to "debí": í.
"deber" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "debí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deber ← dbeer · ddeber · debber · deberr · debre · deebr · dever · edber
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deber" and "debí" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "deber" vs "debí" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "deber" and "debí" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "deber" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #270,071 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deber" and "debí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debí vs Deva". 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 #270,071 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.