dejenvsdesdénWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,286
“dejen” frequency rank
#27,566
“desdén” frequency rank
29852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dejen desdén
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de dejar o de dejarse. Frialdad u hostilidad en el trato que reflejan la poca estima que se tiene por alguien.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
dejen
6 ch
desdén

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dejen is [ˈd̪exẽn] while desdén is [d̪esˈð̞ẽn]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dejen is recorded at frequency rank #2,286, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪exẽn]. desdén is at rank #27,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈð̞ẽn].

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 29852, this pair ranks #214,947 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dejen vs desdén

Shared letters: den. Private to "dejen": j. Private to "desdén": .

"dejen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "desdén" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dejenddejen · deejn · dejenn · dejjen · dejne · djeen · edjen

Frequency comparison

dejen#2,286
desdén#27,566

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dejen" and "desdén" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dejen" is a verb and "desdén" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dejen" or "desdén"?
"dejen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,286 in our Spanish list, against #27,566 for "desdén". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dejen vs desdén

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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