Which to use
“decano” is a noun and “décimo” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,482
- “decano” frequency rank
- #8,794
- “décimo” frequency rank
- 19276
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decano | décimo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Individuo que ha acumulado mayor antigüedad en un ente cualquiera. | Que ocupa el puesto siguiente al noveno en una serie ordenada. Ordinal del diez. |
Where the eye mixes decano and décimo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between decano and décimo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decano is [d̪eˈkano] while décimo is [ˈd̪esimo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decano is recorded at frequency rank #10,482, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈkano]. décimo is at rank #8,794, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈd̪esimo].
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 19276, this pair ranks #264,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of decano vs décimo
Shared letters: cdo. Private to "decano": aen. Private to "décimo": imé.
"decano" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décimo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- decano ← dceano · ddecano · deacno · decanno · decaon · deccano · decnao · edcano
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decano" for "décimo" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "decano" or "décimo" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "decano" and "décimo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "decano" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décimo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decano" and "décimo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decae vs decano". 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 #264,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.