decisiónvsdecisivosConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#890
“decisión” frequency rank
#30,015
“decisivos” frequency rank
30905
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decisión decisivos
Definition Determinación, resolución, transacción de una controversia, fallo, sobre algo que se discute. Forma del plural de decisivo.

Where the eye mixes decisión and decisivos

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

8 ch
decisión
9 ch
decisivos

Visual trap between decisión and decisivos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decisión is [d̪esiˈsjõn] while decisivos is [d̪esiˈsiβ̞os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decisión is recorded at frequency rank #890, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪esiˈsjõn]. decisivos is at rank #30,015, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪esiˈsiβ̞os].

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 30905, this pair ranks #209,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decisión vs decisivos

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

"decisión" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "decisivos" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decisivosdceisivos · ddecisivos · deccisivos · decicivos · deciisvos · decisibos · decisiovs · decisivoss

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decisión" and "decisivos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "decisión" is a noun and "decisivos" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "decisión" vs "decisivos" - which ranks higher?
"decisión" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #890 in our Spanish list, against #30,015 for "decisivos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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 "decisivos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #209,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decisión" and "decisivos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decisivas vs decisivos". 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 #209,737 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