debí vs del, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“debí” is a verb and “del” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,811
“debí” frequency rank: #14
“del” frequency rank: 14825
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	debí	del
Definition	Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber.	Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo el.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set debí and del apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

debí

3 ch

del

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debí is [d̪eˈβ̞i] while del is [d̪el]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14825, 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]. del is at rank #14, tagged as acontraction, pronounced [d̪el].

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 14825, this pair ranks #282,583 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of debí vs del

Shared letters: de. Private to "debí": bí. Private to "del": l.

"debí" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "del" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

debí#14,811

del#14

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "debí" and "del" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "debí" is a verb and "del" a contraction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "debí" or "del"?

"del" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14 in our Spanish list, against #14,811 for "debí". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering debí vs del

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “debí”; for a contraction, it's “del”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “debí” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable