decretavsdecretoConfusable pair

Quick tell: decreta is a verb, decreto is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“decreta” is a verb and “decreto” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,161
“decreta” frequency rank
#1,721
“decreto” frequency rank
33882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decreta decreto
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decretar o de decretarse. Disposición o decisión tomada por una autoridad sobre la materia en que tenga competencia. Jerárquicamente suele ser inferior a las leyes.

Where the eye mixes decreta and decreto

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. decreta and decreto follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
decreta
7 ch
decreto

Look-alike desk: decreta vs decreto

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decreta is [d̪eˈkɾet̪a] while decreto is [d̪eˈkɾet̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “decreta” becomes o in “decreto”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decreta is recorded at frequency rank #32,161, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈkɾet̪a]. decreto is at rank #1,721, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈkɾet̪o].

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 33882, this pair ranks #194,402 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decreta vs decreto

Shared letters: cdert. Private to "decreta": a. Private to "decreto": o.

"decreta" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "decreto" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decreta ← dcereta · ddecreta · deccreta · decerta · decreat · decretta · decrreta · decrtea
  • decreto ← dcereto · ddecreto · deccreto · decerto · decreot · decretto · decrreto · decrteo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "decreta" and "decreto" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "decreta" is a verb and "decreto" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "decreta" or "decreto" show up more?
"decreto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,721 in our Spanish list, against #32,161 for "decreta". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "decreta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "decreto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #194,402 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decreta" and "decreto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decreta vs decretada". 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 #194,402 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