decíanvsdecoranTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,909
“decían” frequency rank
#46,469
“decoran” frequency rank
50378
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decían decoran
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de decir. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decorar.

Where the eye mixes decían and decoran

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. decían runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against decoran's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
decían
7 ch
decoran

Why the eye confuses decían with decoran

A purely visual mix-up. decían ([d̪eˈsiãn]) and decoran ([d̪eˈkoɾãn]) 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 50378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decían is recorded at frequency rank #3,909, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsiãn]. decoran is at rank #46,469, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈkoɾãn].

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 50378, this pair ranks #103,529 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decían vs decoran

Shared letters: acden. Private to "decían": í. Private to "decoran": or.

"decían" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "decoran" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decoran ← dceoran · ddecoran · deccoran · decoarn · decorann · decorna · decorran · decroan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decían" and "decoran" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsiãn] versus [d̪eˈkoɾãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "decían" vs "decoran" - which ranks higher?
"decían" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,909 in our Spanish list, against #46,469 for "decoran". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decoran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #103,529 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decían" and "decoran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decoran vs demoran". 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 #103,529 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