decidanvsdespidanTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,069
“decidan” frequency rank
#38,640
“despidan” frequency rank
54709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decidan despidan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de decidir o de decidirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de despedir o de despedirse.

Where the eye mixes decidan and despidan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. decidan runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against despidan's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
decidan
8 ch
despidan

Visual trap between decidan and despidan

A purely visual mix-up. decidan ([d̪eˈsið̞ãn]) and despidan ([d̪esˈpið̞ãn]) 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 54709, 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]. despidan is at rank #38,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpið̞ãn].

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 54709, this pair ranks #82,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of decidan vs despidan

Shared letters: adein. Private to "decidan": c. Private to "despidan": ps.

"decidan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "despidan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decidan ← dceidan · ddecidan · deccidan · decdian · deciadn · decidann · deciddan · decidna
  • despidan ← ddespidan · depsidan · desipdan · despdian · despiadn · despidann · despiddan · despidna

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decidan" and "despidan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsið̞ãn] versus [d̪esˈpið̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "decidan" vs "despidan" - which ranks higher?
"decidan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,069 in our Spanish list, against #38,640 for "despidan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decidan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "despidan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #82,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decidan" and "despidan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despidan vs desvían". 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 #82,102 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