debidavsdecidasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: debida is a participle, decidas is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“debida” is a participle and “decidas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,385
“debida” frequency rank
#21,965
“decidas” frequency rank
33350
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature debida decidas
Definition Forma del femenino de debido, participio de deber. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set debida and decidas apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
debida
7 ch
decidas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debida is [d̪eˈβ̞ið̞a] while decidas is [d̪eˈsið̞as]. 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 (participle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33350, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

debida is recorded at frequency rank #11,385, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ið̞a]. decidas is at rank #21,965, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞as].

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 33350, this pair ranks #197,251 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of debida vs decidas

Shared letters: adei. Private to "debida": b. Private to "decidas": cs.

"debida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "decidas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • debidadbeida · ddebida · debbida · debdia · debiad · debidda · deibda · devida
  • decidasdceidas · ddecidas · deccidas · decdias · deciads · decidass · deciddas · decidsa

Frequency comparison

debida#11,385
decidas#21,965

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "debida" and "decidas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "debida" is a participle and "decidas" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "debida" or "decidas"?
"debida" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,385 in our Spanish list, against #21,965 for "decidas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering debida vs decidas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list