Which to use
“deir” is an adjective and “del” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,473
- “deir” frequency rank
- #14
- “del” frequency rank
- 46487
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deir | del |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mutación suave del adjetivo numeral cardinal femenino teir ('tres') | Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo el. |
Where the eye mixes deir and del
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses deir with del
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deir is [ˈdɛjr] while del is [d̪el]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deir is recorded at frequency rank #46,473, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛjr]. del is at rank #14, tagged as acontraction, pronounced [d̪el].
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 46487, this pair ranks #125,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deir vs del
Shared letters: de. Private to "deir": ir. Private to "del": l.
"deir" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "del" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- deir ← ddeir · deirr · deri · edir
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deir" for "del" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deir" or "del"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "deir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "del" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deir" and "del" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deir vs Deva". 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 #125,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.