Which to use
“debiste” is a verb and “despiste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,157
- “debiste” frequency rank
- #46,489
- “despiste” frequency rank
- 78646
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debiste | despiste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de deber. | Error involuntario cometido por no fijarse en todos los detalles. |
Where the eye mixes debiste and despiste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: debiste vs despiste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: debiste is [d̪eˈβ̞ist̪e] while despiste is [d̪esˈpist̪e]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debiste is recorded at frequency rank #32,157, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞ist̪e]. despiste is at rank #46,489, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈpist̪e].
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 78646, this pair ranks #14,171 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of debiste vs despiste
Shared letters: deist. Private to "debiste": b. Private to "despiste": p.
"debiste" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "despiste" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "debiste" and "despiste" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "debiste" or "despiste" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "debiste" and "despiste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "debiste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despiste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,171 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debiste" and "despiste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despistar vs despiste". 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 #14,171 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.