Which to use
“década” is a noun and “degrada” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,078
- “década” frequency rank
- #38,041
- “degrada” frequency rank
- 40119
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | década | degrada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Período de diez años. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de degradar. |
Where the eye mixes década and degrada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. década runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against degrada's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between década and degrada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: década is [ˈd̪ekað̞a] while degrada is [d̪eˈɣ̞ɾað̞a]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
década is recorded at frequency rank #2,078, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪ekað̞a]. degrada is at rank #38,041, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈɣ̞ɾað̞a].
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 40119, this pair ranks #160,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of década vs degrada
Shared letters: ad. Private to "década": cé. Private to "degrada": egr.
"década" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "degrada" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- degrada ← ddegrada · degarda · deggrada · degraad · degradda · degrdaa · degrrada · dergada
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "década" and "degrada" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "década" vs "degrada" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "década" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "degrada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #160,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "década" and "degrada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degrada vs degradar". 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 #160,783 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.