dejenvsdicenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,286
“dejen” frequency rank
#415
“dicen” frequency rank
2701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dejen dicen
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de dejar o de dejarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de decir.

Where the eye mixes dejen and dicen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
dejen
5 ch
dicen

Why the eye confuses dejen with dicen

A purely visual mix-up. dejen ([ˈd̪exẽn]) and dicen ([ˈd̪isẽn]) 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 2701, 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]. dicen is at rank #415, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪isẽn].

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 2701, this pair ranks #319,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dejen vs dicen

Shared letters: den. Private to "dejen": j. Private to "dicen": ci.

"dejen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "dicen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dejenddejen · deejn · dejenn · dejjen · dejne · djeen · edjen
  • dicendcien · ddicen · diccen · dicenn · dicne · diecn · disen · idcen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dejen" and "dicen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪exẽn] versus [ˈd̪isẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dejen" vs "dicen" - which ranks higher?
"dicen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #415 in our Spanish list, against #2,286 for "dejen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dejen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dicen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #319,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dejen" and "dicen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dejen vs déjense". 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 #319,826 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