degradarvsderramarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#44,099
“degradar” frequency rank
#22,652
“derramar” frequency rank
66751
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature degradar derramar
Definition Reducir o bajar de grado. Verter, esparcir cosas líquidas o menudas.

Where the eye mixes degradar and derramar

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

8 ch
degradar
8 ch
derramar

Look-alike desk: degradar vs derramar

A purely visual mix-up. degradar ([d̪eɣ̞ɾaˈð̞aɾ]) and derramar ([d̪eraˈmaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

degradar is recorded at frequency rank #44,099, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eɣ̞ɾaˈð̞aɾ]. derramar is at rank #22,652, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eraˈmaɾ].

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 66751, this pair ranks #38,977 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of degradar vs derramar

Shared letters: ader. Private to "degradar": g. Private to "derramar": m.

"degradar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "derramar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • degradar ← ddegradar · degardar · deggradar · degraadr · degradarr · degraddar · degradra · degrdaar
  • derramar ← dderramar · deramar · derarmar · derraamr · derramarr · derrammar · derramra · derrmaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "degradar" and "derramar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eɣ̞ɾaˈð̞aɾ] versus [d̪eraˈmaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "degradar" or "derramar" show up more?
"derramar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,652 in our Spanish list, against #44,099 for "degradar". 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 "degradar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "derramar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #38,977 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "degradar" and "derramar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degrada vs degradar". 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 #38,977 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