delavsdelosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,645
“dela” frequency rank
#33,063
“delos” frequency rank
53708
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dela delos
Definition Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo la Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo los

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
dela
5 ch
delos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dela (/ˈde.la/) and delos (/ˈde.los/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dela is recorded at frequency rank #20,645, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈde.la/. delos is at rank #33,063, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /ˈde.los/.

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 53708, this pair ranks #86,616 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dela vs delos

Shared letters: del. Private to "dela": a. Private to "delos": os.

"dela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "delos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deladdela · dlea · edla
  • delosddelos · dellos · deloss · delso · deols · dleos · edlos

Frequency comparison

dela#20,645
delos#33,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dela" and "delos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈde.la/ versus /ˈde.los/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dela" or "delos"?
"dela" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,645 in our Spanish list, against #33,063 for "delos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dela vs delos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dela” 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