débilvsdeirWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“débil” and “deir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,397
“débil” frequency rank
#46,473
“deir” frequency rank
49870
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débil deir
Definition De poca fortaleza, que carece de fuerza física. Mutación suave del adjetivo numeral cardinal femenino teir ('tres')

Where the eye mixes débil and deir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. débil runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against deir's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
débil
4 ch
deir

Look-alike desk: débil vs deir

A purely visual mix-up. débil ([ˈd̪eβ̞il]) and deir ([ˈdɛjr]) 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 49870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débil is recorded at frequency rank #3,397, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞il]. deir is at rank #46,473, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛjr].

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 49870, this pair ranks #106,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of débil vs deir

Shared letters: di. Private to "débil": blé. Private to "deir": er.

"débil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "deir" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deir ← ddeir · deirr · deri · edir

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débil" and "deir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪eβ̞il] versus [ˈdɛjr]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "débil" or "deir"?
"débil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,397 in our Spanish list, against #46,473 for "deir". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "débil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #106,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "débil" and "deir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deir vs Deva". 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 #106,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list