Which to use
“decae” is a verb and “dela” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,929
- “decae” frequency rank
- #20,645
- “dela” frequency rank
- 69574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decae | dela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decaer. | Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo la |
Where the eye mixes decae and dela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses decae with dela
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decae is [d̪eˈkae] while dela is /ˈde.la/. 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 contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decae is recorded at frequency rank #48,929, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈkae]. dela is at rank #20,645, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ˈde.la/.
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 69574, this pair ranks #31,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of decae vs dela
Shared letters: ade. Private to "decae": c. Private to "dela": l.
"decae" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "dela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "decae" and "dela" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "decae" or "dela"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decae" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decae" and "dela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decae vs Deva". 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 #31,678 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.