decidanvsdecidirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,069
“decidan” frequency rank
#2,769
“decidir” frequency rank
18838
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decidan decidir
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de decidir o de decidirse. Zanjar una cuestión, tomar una resolución definitiva.

Where the eye mixes decidan and decidir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. decidan and decidir follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
decidan
7 ch
decidir

Why the eye confuses decidan with decidir

A purely visual mix-up. decidan ([d̪eˈsið̞ãn]) and decidir ([d̪esiˈð̞iɾ]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decidan is recorded at frequency rank #16,069, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞ãn]. decidir is at rank #2,769, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞iɾ].

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 18838, this pair ranks #266,268 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decidan vs decidir

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decidan": an. Private to "decidir": r.

"decidan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "decidir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decidan ← dceidan · ddecidan · deccidan · decdian · deciadn · decidann · deciddan · decidna
  • decidir ← dceidir · ddecidir · deccidir · decdiir · deciddir · decidirr · decidri · deciidr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decidan" and "decidir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsið̞ãn] versus [d̪esiˈð̞iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "decidan" vs "decidir" - which ranks higher?
"decidir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,769 in our Spanish list, against #16,069 for "decidan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decidan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decidir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #266,268 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decidan" and "decidir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decidan vs decoran". 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 #266,268 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