Which to use
“debimos” and “decíamos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,013
- “debimos” frequency rank
- #19,080
- “decíamos” frequency rank
- 56093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debimos | decíamos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber. | Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de decir. |
Where the eye mixes debimos and decíamos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. debimos runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against decíamos's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: debimos vs decíamos
A purely visual mix-up. debimos ([d̪eˈβ̞imos]) and decíamos ([d̪eˈsiamos]) 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 56093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debimos is recorded at frequency rank #37,013, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞imos]. decíamos is at rank #19,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsiamos].
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 56093, this pair ranks #76,067 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of debimos vs decíamos
Shared letters: demos. Private to "debimos": bi. Private to "decíamos": ací.
"debimos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "decíamos" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- debimos ← dbeimos · ddebimos · debbimos · debimmos · debimoss · debimso · debioms · debmios
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "debimos" and "decíamos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debimos" or "decíamos" show up more?
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 "debimos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decíamos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,067 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debimos" and "decíamos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "debías vs debimos". 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 #76,067 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.