Which to use
“decidía” and “decidir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,043
- “decidía” frequency rank
- #2,769
- “decidir” frequency rank
- 36812
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decidía | decidir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse. | Zanjar una cuestión, tomar una resolución definitiva. |
Where the eye mixes decidía and decidir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. decidía (CVCVCVV) and decidir (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses decidía with decidir
A purely visual mix-up. decidía ([d̪esiˈð̞ia]) and decidir ([d̪esiˈð̞iɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decidía is recorded at frequency rank #34,043, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞ia]. decidir is at rank #2,769, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞iɾ].
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 36812, this pair ranks #178,644 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decidía vs decidir
Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decidía": aí. Private to "decidir": r.
"decidía" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "decidir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- decidir ← dceidir · ddecidir · deccidir · decdiir · deciddir · decidirr · decidri · deciidr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decidía" for "decidir" ever safe?
Frequency check: "decidía" vs "decidir" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "decidía" and "decidir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "decidía" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decidir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,644 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decidía" and "decidir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decidía vs decididas". 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 #178,644 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.