demorarvsdenotarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,214
“demorar” frequency rank
#45,857
“denotar” frequency rank
71071
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demorar denotar
Definition Retardar algún proceso o actividad. Ser expresión o indicación de algo.

Where the eye mixes demorar and denotar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. demorar and denotar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
demorar
7 ch
denotar

Visual trap between demorar and denotar

A purely visual mix-up. demorar ([d̪emoˈɾaɾ]) and denotar ([d̪enoˈt̪aɾ]) 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 71071, 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]. denotar is at rank #45,857, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪enoˈt̪aɾ].

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 71071, this pair ranks #28,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of demorar vs denotar

Shared letters: adeor. Private to "demorar": m. Private to "denotar": nt.

"demorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "denotar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demorar ← ddemorar · demmorar · demoarr · demorarr · demorrar · demroar · deomrar · dmeorar
  • denotar ← ddenotar · dennotar · denoatr · denotarr · denotra · denottar · dentoar · deontar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "demorar" and "denotar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪emoˈɾaɾ] versus [d̪enoˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "demorar" or "denotar" show up more?
"demorar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,214 in our Spanish list, against #45,857 for "denotar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "denotar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #28,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demorar" and "denotar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denegar vs denotar". 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 #28,288 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