delivsdelitoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deli is a adjective, delito is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deli” is an adjective and “delito” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,566
“deli” frequency rank
#1,766
“delito” frequency rank
51332
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deli delito
Definition Delicioso. Acción que viola la ley y conlleva pena.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deli and delito apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
deli
6 ch
delito

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deli is [ˈd̪eli] while delito is [d̪eˈlit̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “deli” sits inside “delito”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51332, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deli is recorded at frequency rank #49,566, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪eli]. delito is at rank #1,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈlit̪o].

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 51332, this pair ranks #98,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deli vs delito

Shared letters: deil. Private to "deli": -. Private to "delito": ot.

"deli" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "delito" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deliddeli · delli · dlei
  • delitoddelito · deilto · deliot · delitto · dellito · deltio · dleito · edlito

Frequency comparison

deli#49,566
delito#1,766

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deli" and "delito" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deli" is an adjective and "delito" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deli" or "delito"?
"delito" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,766 in our Spanish list, against #49,566 for "deli". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering deli vs delito

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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