décadavsdegradaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: década is a noun, degrada is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set década and degrada apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
década
7 ch
degrada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

década and degrada form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.

Frequency comparison

década#2,078
degrada#38,041

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "década" and "degrada" be used interchangeably?
No, "década" and "degrada" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering década vs degrada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “década”; for a verb, it's “degrada”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “década” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list