Which to use
“debió” is a verb and “deir” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,706
- “debió” frequency rank
- #46,473
- “deir” frequency rank
- 49179
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debió | deir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber. | Mutación suave del adjetivo numeral cardinal femenino teir ('tres') |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set debió and deir apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debió is [d̪eˈβ̞jo] while deir is [ˈdɛjr]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debió is recorded at frequency rank #2,706, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞jo]. 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 49179, this pair ranks #110,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debió vs deir
Shared letters: dei. Private to "debió": bó. Private to "deir": r.
"debió" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "deir" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- deir ← ddeir · deirr · deri · edir
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "debió" and "deir" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "debió" or "deir"?
Remembering debió vs deir
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “debió”; for an adjective, it's “deir”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “debió” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable