den vs donen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,020
“den” frequency rank: #49,597
“donen” frequency rank: 51617
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	den	donen
Definition	Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de dar o de darse.	Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de donar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set den and donen apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

den

5 ch

donen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. den ([ˈd̪ẽn]) and donen ([ˈd̪onẽn]) 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 51617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

den is recorded at frequency rank #2,020, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ẽn]. donen is at rank #49,597, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪onẽn].

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 51617, this pair ranks #97,008 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of den vs donen

Shared letters: den. Private to "den": -. Private to "donen": o.

"den" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "donen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

donen ← ddonen · dnoen · doenn · donenn · donnen · odnen

Frequency comparison

den#2,020

donen#49,597

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "den" and "donen" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪ẽn] versus [ˈd̪onẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "den" or "donen"?

"den" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,020 in our Spanish list, against #49,597 for "donen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering den vs donen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “den” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable