decisivavsdecisivoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,573
“decisiva” frequency rank
#9,797
“decisivo” frequency rank
22370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decisiva decisivo
Definition Forma del femenino de decisivo. De lo que decide o resuelve

Where the eye mixes decisiva and decisivo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
decisiva
8 ch
decisivo

Visual trap between decisiva and decisivo

A purely visual mix-up. decisiva ([d̪esiˈsiβ̞a]) and decisivo ([d̪esiˈsiβ̞o]) 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 a single letter - a in “decisiva” becomes o in “decisivo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decisiva is recorded at frequency rank #12,573, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪esiˈsiβ̞a]. 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 22370, this pair ranks #250,645 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decisiva vs decisivo

Shared letters: cdeisv. Private to "decisiva": a. Private to "decisivo": o.

"decisiva" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "decisivo" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decisivadceisiva · ddecisiva · deccisiva · deciciva · deciisva · decisiav · decisiba · decisivva
  • decisivodceisivo · ddecisivo · deccisivo · decicivo · deciisvo · decisibo · decisiov · decisivvo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "decisiva" for "decisivo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esiˈsiβ̞a] versus [d̪esiˈsiβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decisiva" or "decisivo"?
"decisivo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,797 in our Spanish list, against #12,573 for "decisiva". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "decisiva" and "decisivo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decisiva" 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 #250,645 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decisiva" and "decisivo" 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 #250,645 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