decisiónvsdecisivoTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#890
“decisión” frequency rank
#9,797
“decisivo” frequency rank
10687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decisión decisivo
Definition Determinación, resolución, transacción de una controversia, fallo, sobre algo que se discute. De lo que decide o resuelve

Where the eye mixes decisión and decisivo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
decisión
8 ch
decisivo

Visual trap between decisión and decisivo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decisión is [d̪esiˈsjõn] while decisivo is [d̪esiˈsiβ̞o]. 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 10687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decisión is recorded at frequency rank #890, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪esiˈsjõn]. decisivo is at rank #9,797, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪esiˈsiβ̞o].

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 10687, this pair ranks #297,738 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decisión vs decisivo

Shared letters: cdeis. Private to "decisión": . Private to "decisivo": ov.

"decisión" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "decisivo" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decisivodceisivo · ddecisivo · deccisivo · decicivo · deciisvo · decisibo · decisiov · decisivvo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decisión" and "decisivo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "decisión" is a noun and "decisivo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "decisión" vs "decisivo" - which ranks higher?
"decisión" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #890 in our Spanish list, against #9,797 for "decisivo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decisión" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decisivo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,738 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decisión" and "decisivo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decisivas vs decisivo". 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 #297,738 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