dementevsdementesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,508
“demente” frequency rank
#35,978
“dementes” frequency rank
54486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demente dementes
Definition Loco o falto de juicio. Forma del plural de demente.

Where the eye mixes demente and dementes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. demente runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against dementes's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
demente
8 ch
dementes

Why the eye confuses demente with dementes

A purely visual mix-up. demente ([d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪e]) and dementes ([d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪es]) 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 extra letter(s) - “demente” sits inside “dementes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demente is recorded at frequency rank #18,508, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪e]. dementes is at rank #35,978, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪es].

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 54486, this pair ranks #83,098 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demente vs dementes

Shared letters: demnt. Private to "demente": -. Private to "dementes": s.

"demente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "dementes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demente ← ddemente · deemnte · demenet · demennte · dementte · demetne · demmente · demnete
  • dementes ← ddementes · deemntes · demenets · demenntes · dementess · dementse · dementtes · demetnes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "demente" and "dementes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪e] versus [d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪es]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "demente" or "dementes"?
"demente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,508 in our Spanish list, against #35,978 for "dementes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "demente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dementes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #83,098 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demente" and "dementes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dementes vs detente". 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 #83,098 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