delavsdentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dela is a contraction, dent is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dela” is a contraction and “dent” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,645
“dela” frequency rank
#40,232
“dent” frequency rank
60877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dela dent
Definition Contracción de la preposición de y el artículo la Forma del plural de dant ('dientes')

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dela and dent apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dela
4 ch
dent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dela is /ˈde.la/ while dent is [ˈdɛnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60877, 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/. dent is at rank #40,232, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛnt].

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 60877, this pair ranks #57,372 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dela vs dent

Shared letters: de. Private to "dela": al. Private to "dent": nt.

"dela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "dent" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deladdela · dlea · edla
  • dentddent · dennt · dentt · detn · dnet · ednt

Frequency comparison

dela#20,645
dent#40,232

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dela" and "dent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dela" is a contraction and "dent" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dela" or "dent"?
"dela" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,645 in our Spanish list, against #40,232 for "dent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dela vs dent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “dela”; for a noun, it's “dent”.
  • 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