Which to use
“decisión” is a noun and “decisiva” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #890
- “decisión” frequency rank
- #12,573
- “decisiva” frequency rank
- 13463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decisión | decisiva |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Determinación, resolución, transacción de una controversia, fallo, sobre algo que se discute. | Forma del femenino de decisivo. |
Where the eye mixes decisión and decisiva
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses decisión with decisiva
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decisión is [d̪esiˈsjõn] while decisiva is [d̪esiˈsiβ̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decisión is recorded at frequency rank #890, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪esiˈsjõn]. decisiva is at rank #12,573, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪esiˈsiβ̞a].
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 13463, this pair ranks #287,785 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of decisión vs decisiva
Shared letters: cdeis. Private to "decisión": nó. Private to "decisiva": av.
"decisión" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "decisiva" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- decisiva ← dceisiva · ddecisiva · deccisiva · deciciva · deciisva · decisiav · decisiba · decisivva
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decisión" for "decisiva" ever safe?
Frequency check: "decisión" vs "decisiva" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "decisión" and "decisiva" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "decisión" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decisiva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,785 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decisión" and "decisiva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decisiva vs decisivas". 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 #287,785 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.