decidavsdecidenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,273
“decida” frequency rank
#6,648
“deciden” frequency rank
15921
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decida deciden
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de decidir o de decidirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the eye mixes decida and deciden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
decida
7 ch
deciden

Why the eye confuses decida with deciden

A purely visual mix-up. decida ([d̪eˈsið̞a]) and deciden ([d̪eˈsið̞ẽn]) 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 15921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decida is recorded at frequency rank #9,273, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞a]. deciden is at rank #6,648, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞ẽn].

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 15921, this pair ranks #278,221 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decida vs deciden

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decida": a. Private to "deciden": n.

"decida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "deciden" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decidadceida · ddecida · deccida · decdia · deciad · decidda · deicda · desida
  • decidendceiden · ddeciden · decciden · decdien · decidden · decidenn · decidne · deciedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "decida" for "deciden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsið̞a] versus [d̪eˈsið̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "decida" vs "deciden" - which ranks higher?
"deciden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,648 in our Spanish list, against #9,273 for "decida". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decida" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deciden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #278,221 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decida" and "deciden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decida vs dolida". 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 #278,221 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