Which to use
“debían” and “debías” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,091
- “debían” frequency rank
- #44,095
- “debías” frequency rank
- 49186
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debían | debías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de deber. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de deber. |
Where the eye mixes debían and debías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: debían vs debías
A purely visual mix-up. debían ([d̪eˈβ̞iãn]) and debías ([d̪eˈβ̞ias]) 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 a single letter - n in “debían” becomes s in “debías”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debían is recorded at frequency rank #5,091, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞iãn]. debías is at rank #44,095, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ias].
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 49186, this pair ranks #110,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debían vs debías
Shared letters: abdeí. Private to "debían": n. Private to "debías": s.
"debían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "debías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "debían" and "debías" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "debían" or "debías"?
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 "debían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "debías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #110,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debían" and "debías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debías vs Denia". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #110,242 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.