demoliciónvsdevoluciónWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,828
“demolición” frequency rank
#10,314
“devolución” frequency rank
26142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demolición devolución
Definition Acción o efecto de demoler. Acción de devolver

Where the eye mixes demolición and devolución

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. demolición and devolución follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
demolición
10 ch
devolución

Visual trap between demolición and devolución

A purely visual mix-up. demolición ([d̪emoliˈsjõn]) and devolución ([d̪eβ̞oluˈsjõn]) 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 26142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demolición is recorded at frequency rank #15,828, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪emoliˈsjõn]. devolución is at rank #10,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eβ̞oluˈsjõn].

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 26142, this pair ranks #233,091 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demolición vs devolución

Shared letters: cdeilnoó. Private to "demolición": m. Private to "devolución": uv.

"demolición" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC  ·  "devolución" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "demolición" and "devolución" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪emoliˈsjõn] versus [d̪eβ̞oluˈsjõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "demolición" vs "devolución" - which ranks higher?
"devolución" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,314 in our Spanish list, against #15,828 for "demolición". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "demolición" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "devolución" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #233,091 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demolición" and "devolución" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demolición vs deposición". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #233,091 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