decidióvsdespidióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,893
“decidió” frequency rank
#13,226
“despidió” frequency rank
15119
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decidió despidió
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) 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 despedir o de despedirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set decidió and despidió apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
decidió
8 ch
despidió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. decidió ([d̪esiˈð̞jo]) and despidió ([d̪espiˈð̞jo]) 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 15119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decidió is recorded at frequency rank #1,893, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞jo]. despidió is at rank #13,226, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪espiˈð̞jo].

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 15119, this pair ranks #281,450 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decidió vs despidió

Shared letters: deió. Private to "decidió": c. Private to "despidió": ps.

"decidió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "despidió" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

decidió#1,893
despidió#13,226

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decidió" and "despidió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esiˈð̞jo] versus [d̪espiˈð̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decidió" or "despidió"?
"decidió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,893 in our Spanish list, against #13,226 for "despidió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering decidió vs despidió

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “decidió” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list