Which to use
“debido” and “decidí” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #479
- “debido” frequency rank
- #4,877
- “decidí” frequency rank
- 5356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debido | decidí |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participio de deber. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse. |
Where the eye mixes debido and decidí
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses debido with decidí
A purely visual mix-up. debido ([d̪eˈβ̞ið̞o]) and decidí ([d̪esiˈð̞i]) 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 5356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debido is recorded at frequency rank #479, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ið̞o]. decidí is at rank #4,877, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞i].
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 5356, this pair ranks #313,831 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of debido vs decidí
Shared letters: dei. Private to "debido": bo. Private to "decidí": cí.
"debido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "decidí" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- debido ← dbeido · ddebido · debbido · debdio · debiddo · debiod · deibdo · devido
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "debido" for "decidí" ever safe?
Which is more common, "debido" or "decidí"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "debido" and "decidí" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "debido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decidí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,831 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debido" and "decidí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decaído vs decidí". 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 #313,831 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.