Which to use
“denegar” and “despegar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,501
- “denegar” frequency rank
- #16,558
- “despegar” frequency rank
- 60059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denegar | despegar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | No conceder lo que se pide o solicita. | Separarse de la superficie, iniciar el vuelo, especialmente un avión. |
Where the eye mixes denegar and despegar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. denegar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against despegar's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses denegar with despegar
A purely visual mix-up. denegar ([d̪eneˈɣ̞aɾ]) and despegar ([d̪espeˈɣ̞aɾ]) 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 60059, 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]. despegar is at rank #16,558, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪espeˈɣ̞aɾ].
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 60059, this pair ranks #60,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of denegar vs despegar
Shared letters: adegr. Private to "denegar": n. Private to "despegar": ps.
"denegar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "despegar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "denegar" and "despegar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "denegar" or "despegar"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "denegar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despegar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denegar" and "despegar" 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 #60,288 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.