decaídovsdecidíWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“decaído” and “decidí” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,678
“decaído” frequency rank
#4,877
“decidí” frequency rank
49555
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decaído decidí
Definition Participio de decaer. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the eye mixes decaído and decidí

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. decaído runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against decidí's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
decaído
6 ch
decidí

Visual trap between decaído and decidí

A purely visual mix-up. decaído ([d̪ekaˈið̞o]) and decidí ([d̪esiˈð̞i]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decaído is recorded at frequency rank #44,678, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪ekaˈið̞o]. decidí is at rank #4,877, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞i].

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 49555, this pair ranks #108,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decaído vs decidí

Shared letters: cdeí. Private to "decaído": ao. Private to "decidí": i.

"decaído" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "decidí" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decaído" and "decidí" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪ekaˈið̞o] versus [d̪esiˈð̞i]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "decaído" or "decidí" show up more?
"decidí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,877 in our Spanish list, against #44,678 for "decaído". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "decaído" and "decidí" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decaído" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decidí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #108,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decaído" and "decidí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decaído vs decid". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #108,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list