decenasvsdécimasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,299
“decenas” frequency rank
#29,178
“décimas” frequency rank
34477
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decenas décimas
Definition Forma del femenino plural de deceno. Forma del femenino plural de décimo.

Where the eye mixes decenas and décimas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. decenas and décimas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
decenas
7 ch
décimas

Look-alike desk: decenas vs décimas

A purely visual mix-up. decenas ([d̪eˈsenas]) and décimas ([ˈd̪esimas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decenas is recorded at frequency rank #5,299, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪eˈsenas]. décimas is at rank #29,178, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪esimas].

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 34477, this pair ranks #191,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decenas vs décimas

Shared letters: acds. Private to "decenas": en. Private to "décimas": imé.

"decenas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "décimas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decenas ← dceenas · ddecenas · deccenas · deceans · decenass · decennas · decensa · decneas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decenas" and "décimas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsenas] versus [ˈd̪esimas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decenas" or "décimas"?
"decenas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,299 in our Spanish list, against #29,178 for "décimas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decenas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "décimas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #191,220 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decenas" and "décimas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décimas vs dimas". 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 #191,220 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