Which to use
“debíamos” and “debimos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,947
- “debíamos” frequency rank
- #37,013
- “debimos” frequency rank
- 57960
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debíamos | debimos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de deber. | Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber. |
Where the eye mixes debíamos and debimos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. debíamos runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against debimos's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: debíamos vs debimos
A purely visual mix-up. debíamos ([d̪eˈβ̞iamos]) and debimos ([d̪eˈβ̞imos]) 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 57960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debíamos is recorded at frequency rank #20,947, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞iamos]. debimos is at rank #37,013, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞imos].
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 57960, this pair ranks #68,350 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of debíamos vs debimos
Shared letters: bdemos. Private to "debíamos": aí. Private to "debimos": i.
"debíamos" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "debimos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- debimos ← dbeimos · ddebimos · debbimos · debimmos · debimoss · debimso · debioms · debmios
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "debíamos" for "debimos" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debíamos" or "debimos" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "debíamos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debimos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,350 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debíamos" and "debimos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debías vs debimos". 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 #68,350 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.