deberíaisvsdeberíanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,601
“deberíais” frequency rank
#1,339
“deberían” frequency rank
33940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deberíais deberían
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del condicional de deber. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del condicional de deber.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deberíais and deberían apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
deberíais
8 ch
deberían

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. deberíais ([d̪eβ̞eˈɾiajs]) and deberían ([d̪eβ̞eˈɾiãn]) 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 33940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deberíais is recorded at frequency rank #32,601, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eβ̞eˈɾiajs]. deberían is at rank #1,339, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eβ̞eˈɾiãn].

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 33940, this pair ranks #194,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deberíais vs deberían

Shared letters: abderí. Private to "deberíais": is. Private to "deberían": n.

"deberíais" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVVC  ·  "deberían" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

deberíais#32,601
deberían#1,339

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deberíais" and "deberían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eβ̞eˈɾiajs] versus [d̪eβ̞eˈɾiãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deberíais" or "deberían"?
"deberían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,339 in our Spanish list, against #32,601 for "deberíais". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering deberíais vs deberían

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deberíais” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list