decidenvsdecidesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,648
“deciden” frequency rank
#11,020
“decides” frequency rank
17668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deciden decides
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the eye mixes deciden and decides

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

7 ch
deciden
7 ch
decides

Why the eye confuses deciden with decides

A purely visual mix-up. deciden ([d̪eˈsið̞ẽn]) and decides ([d̪eˈsið̞es]) 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 a single letter - n in “deciden” becomes s in “decides”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deciden is recorded at frequency rank #6,648, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞ẽn]. decides is at rank #11,020, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsið̞es].

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 17668, this pair ranks #271,198 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of deciden vs decides

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "deciden": n. Private to "decides": s.

"deciden" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "decides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decidendceiden · ddeciden · decciden · decdien · decidden · decidenn · decidne · deciedn
  • decidesdceides · ddecides · deccides · decdies · deciddes · decidess · decidse · decieds

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "deciden" for "decides" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsið̞ẽn] versus [d̪eˈsið̞es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "deciden" vs "decides" - which ranks higher?
"deciden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,648 in our Spanish list, against #11,020 for "decides". 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 "deciden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decides" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #271,198 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deciden" and "decides" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decides vs dóciles". 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 #271,198 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