demorarvsdemostrarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,214
“demorar” frequency rank
#2,394
“demostrar” frequency rank
27608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demorar demostrar
Definition Retardar algún proceso o actividad. Hacer evidente o establecer con argumentos o razonamientos.

Where the eye mixes demorar and demostrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. demorar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against demostrar's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
demorar
9 ch
demostrar

Look-alike desk: demorar vs demostrar

A purely visual mix-up. demorar ([d̪emoˈɾaɾ]) and demostrar ([d̪emosˈt̪ɾaɾ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demorar is recorded at frequency rank #25,214, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪emoˈɾaɾ]. demostrar is at rank #2,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaɾ].

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 27608, this pair ranks #225,991 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demorar vs demostrar

Shared letters: ademor. Private to "demorar": -. Private to "demostrar": st.

"demorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "demostrar" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demorar ← ddemorar · demmorar · demoarr · demorarr · demorrar · demroar · deomrar · dmeorar
  • demostrar ← ddemostrar · demmostrar · demosrtar · demosstrar · demostarr · demostrarr · demostrra · demostrrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "demorar" for "demostrar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪emoˈɾaɾ] versus [d̪emosˈt̪ɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "demorar" vs "demostrar" - which ranks higher?
"demostrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,394 in our Spanish list, against #25,214 for "demorar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "demorar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "demostrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #225,991 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demorar" and "demostrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decoran vs demorar". 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 #225,991 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