dejavsDevaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deja is a verb, Deva is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deja” is a verb and “Deva” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#496
“deja” frequency rank
#49,578
“Deva” frequency rank
50074
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deja Deva
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dejar o de dejarse. Apellido.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deja and Deva apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
deja
4 ch
Deva

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deja is [ˈd̪exa] while Deva is [ˈd̪eβ̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - j in “deja” becomes v in “Deva”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50074, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deja is recorded at frequency rank #496, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪exa]. Deva is at rank #49,578, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈd̪eβ̞a].

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 50074, this pair ranks #105,241 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deja vs Deva

Shared letters: ade. Private to "deja": j. Private to "Deva": v.

"deja" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Deva" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dejaddeja · deaj · dejja · djea · edja
  • Devaddeva · deav · devva · dvea · edva

Frequency comparison

deja#496
Deva#49,578

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deja" and "Deva" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deja" is a verb and "Deva" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deja" or "Deva"?
"deja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #496 in our Spanish list, against #49,578 for "Deva". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering deja vs Deva

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “deja”; for a name, it's “Deva”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deja” 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