decidívsdecidióConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,877
“decidí” frequency rank
#1,893
“decidió” frequency rank
6770
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decidí decidió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse.

Where the eye mixes decidí and decidió

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
decidí
7 ch
decidió

Look-alike desk: decidí vs decidió

A purely visual mix-up. decidí ([d̪esiˈð̞i]) and decidió ([d̪esiˈð̞jo]) 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 6770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decidí is recorded at frequency rank #4,877, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞i]. decidió is at rank #1,893, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞jo].

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 6770, this pair ranks #309,841 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decidí vs decidió

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decidí": í. Private to "decidió": ó.

"decidí" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "decidió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decidí" and "decidió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esiˈð̞i] versus [d̪esiˈð̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decidí" or "decidió"?
"decidió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,893 in our Spanish list, against #4,877 for "decidí". 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 "decidí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decidió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #309,841 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decidí" and "decidió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decaído vs decidí". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #309,841 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