débilvsdeliConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,397
“débil” frequency rank
#49,566
“deli” frequency rank
52963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débil deli
Definition De poca fortaleza, que carece de fuerza física. Delicioso.

Where the eye mixes débil and deli

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

5 ch
débil
4 ch
deli

Why the eye confuses débil with deli

A purely visual mix-up. débil ([ˈd̪eβ̞il]) and deli ([ˈd̪eli]) 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 52963, 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]. deli is at rank #49,566, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪eli].

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 52963, this pair ranks #90,230 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of débil vs deli

Shared letters: dil. Private to "débil": bé. Private to "deli": e.

"débil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "deli" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deli ← ddeli · delli · dlei

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débil" and "deli" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪eβ̞il] versus [ˈd̪eli]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "débil" vs "deli" - which ranks higher?
"débil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,397 in our Spanish list, against #49,566 for "deli". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "débil" and "deli" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "débil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deli" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #90,230 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "débil" and "deli" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deli 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 #90,230 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