décimavsdécimasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décima is a noun, décimas is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décima” is a noun and “décimas” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,562
“décima” frequency rank
#29,178
“décimas” frequency rank
40740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décima décimas
Definition Cada parte de las diez en que se dividen ciertas medidas, como los grados en un termómetro, las micras, etc. Forma del femenino plural de décimo.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
décima
7 ch
décimas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décima is [ˈd̪esima] while décimas is [ˈd̪esimas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “décima” sits inside “décimas”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décima is recorded at frequency rank #11,562, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪esima]. décimas is at rank #29,178, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪esimas].

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 40740, this pair ranks #157,454 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décima vs décimas

Shared letters: acdimé. Private to "décima": -. Private to "décimas": s.

"décima" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "décimas" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décima#11,562
décimas#29,178

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décima" and "décimas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décima" is a noun and "décimas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décima" or "décimas"?
"décima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,562 in our Spanish list, against #29,178 for "décimas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décima vs décimas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “décima”; for an adjective, it's “décimas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décima” 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