decidenvsdespidenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,648
“deciden” frequency rank
#21,300
“despiden” frequency rank
27948
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deciden despiden
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 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 despedir o de despedirse.

Where the eye mixes deciden and despiden

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

7 ch
deciden
8 ch
despiden

Why the eye confuses deciden with despiden

A purely visual mix-up. deciden ([d̪eˈsið̞ẽn]) and despiden ([d̪esˈpið̞ẽn]) 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 27948, 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]. despiden is at rank #21,300, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpið̞ẽn].

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 27948, this pair ranks #224,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deciden vs despiden

Shared letters: dein. Private to "deciden": c. Private to "despiden": ps.

"deciden" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "despiden" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deciden ← dceiden · ddeciden · decciden · decdien · decidden · decidenn · decidne · deciedn
  • despiden ← ddespiden · depsiden · desipden · despdien · despidden · despidenn · despidne · despiedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "deciden" for "despiden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsið̞ẽn] versus [d̪esˈpið̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "deciden" vs "despiden" - which ranks higher?
"deciden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,648 in our Spanish list, against #21,300 for "despiden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "deciden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "despiden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #224,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deciden" and "despiden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despidan vs despiden". 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 #224,392 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