Which to use
“debí” is a verb and “deco” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,811
- “debí” frequency rank
- #41,289
- “deco” frequency rank
- 56100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debí | deco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber. | Decoración. |
Where the eye mixes debí and deco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. debí and deco follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: debí vs deco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debí is [d̪eˈβ̞i] while deco is [ˈd̪eko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debí is recorded at frequency rank #14,811, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞i]. deco is at rank #41,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪eko].
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 56100, this pair ranks #76,039 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of debí vs deco
Shared letters: de. Private to "debí": bí. Private to "deco": co.
"debí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "deco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deco ← dceo · ddeco · decco · deoc · edco
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "debí" and "deco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debí" or "deco" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "debí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,039 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debí" and "deco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deco 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 #76,039 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.