decíavsdecidasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,136
“decía” frequency rank
#21,965
“decidas” frequency rank
23101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decía decidas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de decir. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the eye mixes decía and decidas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
decía
7 ch
decidas

Look-alike desk: decía vs decidas

A purely visual mix-up. decía ([d̪eˈsia]) and decidas ([d̪eˈsið̞as]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decía is recorded at frequency rank #1,136, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsia]. decidas is at rank #21,965, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞as].

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 23101, this pair ranks #247,388 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decía vs decidas

Shared letters: acde. Private to "decía": í. Private to "decidas": is.

"decía" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "decidas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decidasdceidas · ddecidas · deccidas · decdias · deciads · decidass · deciddas · decidsa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "decía" for "decidas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsia] versus [d̪eˈsið̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decía" or "decidas"?
"decía" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,136 in our Spanish list, against #21,965 for "decidas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decidas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #247,388 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decía" and "decidas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decidas vs decididas". 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 #247,388 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