dedosvsdelosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dedos is a noun, delos is a contraction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dedos” is a noun and “delos” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,556
“dedos” frequency rank
#33,063
“delos” frequency rank
35619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dedos delos
Definition Forma del plural de dedo. Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo los

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dedos and delos apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dedos
5 ch
delos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dedos is [ˈd̪eð̞os] while delos is /ˈde.los/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “dedos” becomes l in “delos”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dedos is recorded at frequency rank #2,556, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪eð̞os]. delos is at rank #33,063, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ˈde.los/.

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 35619, this pair ranks #185,073 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dedos vs delos

Shared letters: deos. Private to "dedos": -. Private to "delos": l.

"dedos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "delos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dedosddedos · ddeos · deddos · dedoss · dedso · deods · eddos
  • delosddelos · dellos · deloss · delso · deols · dleos · edlos

Frequency comparison

dedos#2,556
delos#33,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dedos" and "delos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dedos" is a noun and "delos" a contraction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dedos" or "delos"?
"dedos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,556 in our Spanish list, against #33,063 for "delos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dedos vs delos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dedos”; for a contraction, it's “delos”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dedos” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list