decoravsdemorarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,290
“decora” frequency rank
#25,214
“demorar” frequency rank
66504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decora demorar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decorar. Retardar algún proceso o actividad.

Where the eye mixes decora and demorar

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

6 ch
decora
7 ch
demorar

Look-alike desk: decora vs demorar

A purely visual mix-up. decora ([d̪eˈkoɾa]) and demorar ([d̪emoˈɾaɾ]) 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 66504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decora is recorded at frequency rank #41,290, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈkoɾa]. demorar is at rank #25,214, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪emoˈɾaɾ].

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 66504, this pair ranks #39,692 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of decora vs demorar

Shared letters: adeor. Private to "decora": c. Private to "demorar": m.

"decora" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "demorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decora ← dceora · ddecora · deccora · decoar · decroa · deocra · edcora
  • demorar ← ddemorar · demmorar · demoarr · demorarr · demorrar · demroar · deomrar · dmeorar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decora" and "demorar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈkoɾa] versus [d̪emoˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "decora" vs "demorar" - which ranks higher?
"demorar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,214 in our Spanish list, against #41,290 for "decora". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decora" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "demorar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #39,692 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decora" and "demorar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decora vs decoran". 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 #39,692 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