decorarvsdevorarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,643
“decorar” frequency rank
#37,550
“devorar” frequency rank
58193
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decorar devorar
Definition Adornar. Referido a un animal, comerse a su presa (otro animal que ha cazado o pescado).

Where the eye mixes decorar and devorar

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

7 ch
decorar
7 ch
devorar

Why the eye confuses decorar with devorar

A purely visual mix-up. decorar ([d̪ekoˈɾaɾ]) and devorar ([d̪eβ̞oˈɾaɾ]) 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 - c in “decorar” becomes v in “devorar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decorar is recorded at frequency rank #20,643, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪ekoˈɾaɾ]. devorar is at rank #37,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eβ̞oˈɾaɾ].

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 58193, this pair ranks #67,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of decorar vs devorar

Shared letters: adeor. Private to "decorar": c. Private to "devorar": v.

"decorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "devorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decorardceorar · ddecorar · deccorar · decoarr · decorarr · decorra · decorrar · decroar
  • devorarddevorar · deborar · deovrar · devoarr · devorarr · devorrar · devroar · devvorar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "decorar" for "devorar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪ekoˈɾaɾ] versus [d̪eβ̞oˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decorar" or "devorar"?
"decorar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,643 in our Spanish list, against #37,550 for "devorar". 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 "decorar" and "devorar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decorar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "devorar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #67,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decorar" and "devorar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "develar vs devorar". 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 #67,392 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