Which to use
“debían” and “doblan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,091
- “debían” frequency rank
- #39,176
- “doblan” frequency rank
- 44267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debían | doblan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de deber. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de doblar o de doblarse. |
Where the eye mixes debían and doblan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: debían vs doblan
A purely visual mix-up. debían ([d̪eˈβ̞iãn]) and doblan ([ˈd̪oβ̞lãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44267, 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]. doblan is at rank #39,176, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪oβ̞lãn].
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 44267, this pair ranks #138,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debían vs doblan
Shared letters: abdn. Private to "debían": eí. Private to "doblan": lo.
"debían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "doblan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- doblan ← dbolan · ddoblan · dobaln · dobblan · doblann · dobllan · doblna · dolban
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "debían" and "doblan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debían" or "doblan" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "debían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doblan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debían" and "doblan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "doblan vs donan". 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 #138,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.