Which to use
“denegar” and “desear” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,501
- “denegar” frequency rank
- #7,138
- “desear” frequency rank
- 50639
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denegar | desear |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | No conceder lo que se pide o solicita. | Querer una cosa con mucho anhelo. |
Where the eye mixes denegar and desear
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. denegar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against desear's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses denegar with desear
A purely visual mix-up. denegar ([d̪eneˈɣ̞aɾ]) and desear ([d̪eseˈaɾ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denegar is recorded at frequency rank #43,501, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eneˈɣ̞aɾ]. desear is at rank #7,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈaɾ].
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 50639, this pair ranks #102,114 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of denegar vs desear
Shared letters: ader. Private to "denegar": gn. Private to "desear": s.
"denegar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "desear" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "denegar" and "desear" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "denegar" vs "desear" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "denegar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desear" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #102,114 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denegar" and "desear" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denegar vs develar". 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 #102,114 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.