decidevsdecidenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,041
“decide” frequency rank
#6,648
“deciden” frequency rank
9689
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decide deciden
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo 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 decide and deciden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
decide
7 ch
deciden

Look-alike desk: decide vs deciden

A purely visual mix-up. decide ([d̪eˈsið̞e]) 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 extra letter(s) - “decide” sits inside “deciden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decide is recorded at frequency rank #3,041, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞e]. 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 9689, this pair ranks #301,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decide vs deciden

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decide": -. Private to "deciden": n.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decidedceide · ddecide · deccide · decdie · decidde · decied · deicde · deside
  • decidendceiden · ddeciden · decciden · decdien · decidden · decidenn · decidne · deciedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decide" and "deciden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsið̞e] versus [d̪eˈsið̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "decide" or "deciden" show up more?
"decide" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,041 in our Spanish list, against #6,648 for "deciden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decide" 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 #301,133 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decide" and "deciden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deciden vs deriven". 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 #301,133 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