decimevsdecirleWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,434
“decime” frequency rank
#2,245
“decirle” frequency rank
15679
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decime decirle
Definition Decí (vos), con el enclítico me (pronombre). Decir, con el enclítico le (pronombre).

Where the eye mixes decime and decirle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. decime runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against decirle's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
decime
7 ch
decirle

Visual trap between decime and decirle

A purely visual mix-up. decime ([d̪eˈsime]) and decirle ([d̪eˈsiɾle]) 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 15679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decime is recorded at frequency rank #13,434, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsime]. decirle is at rank #2,245, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈsiɾle].

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 15679, this pair ranks #279,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decime vs decirle

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decime": m. Private to "decirle": lr.

"decime" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "decirle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decime ← dceime · ddecime · deccime · deciem · decimme · decmie · deicme · desime
  • decirle ← dceirle · ddecirle · deccirle · decilre · decirel · decirlle · decirrle · decrile

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decime" and "decirle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈsime] versus [d̪eˈsiɾle]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "decime" or "decirle" show up more?
"decirle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,245 in our Spanish list, against #13,434 for "decime". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decime" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decirle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #279,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decime" and "decirle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decae vs decime". 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 #279,188 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