débilesvsdoblesTell them apart

Quick tell: débiles is a adjective, dobles is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“débiles” is an adjective and “dobles” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,173
“débiles” frequency rank
#8,107
“dobles” frequency rank
14280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débiles dobles
Definition Forma del plural de débil. En el tenis y otros deportes similares, partido que se juega con dos jugadores por lado.

Where the eye mixes débiles and dobles

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. débiles runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against dobles's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
débiles
6 ch
dobles

Look-alike desk: débiles vs dobles

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débiles is [ˈd̪eβ̞iles] while dobles is [ˈd̪oβ̞les]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débiles is recorded at frequency rank #6,173, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞iles]. dobles is at rank #8,107, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪oβ̞les].

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 14280, this pair ranks #284,736 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of débiles vs dobles

Shared letters: bdels. Private to "débiles": ié. Private to "dobles": o.

"débiles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "dobles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dobles ← dboles · ddobles · dobbles · dobels · dobless · doblles · doblse · dolbes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débiles" and "dobles" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "débiles" is an adjective and "dobles" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "débiles" vs "dobles" - which ranks higher?
"débiles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,173 in our Spanish list, against #8,107 for "dobles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "débiles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dobles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #284,736 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "débiles" and "dobles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dobles vs dóciles". 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 #284,736 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