Which to use
“denegó” is a verb and “deseo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,706
- “denegó” frequency rank
- #1,082
- “deseo” frequency rank
- 48788
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denegó | deseo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de denegar. | Atracción por algo hasta el punto de quererlo obtener o alcanzar. |
Where the eye mixes denegó and deseo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. denegó runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against deseo's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses denegó with deseo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: denegó is [d̪eneˈɣ̞o] while deseo is [d̪eˈseo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48788, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denegó is recorded at frequency rank #47,706, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eneˈɣ̞o]. deseo is at rank #1,082, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈseo].
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 48788, this pair ranks #112,544 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of denegó vs deseo
Shared letters: de. Private to "denegó": gnó. Private to "deseo": os.
"denegó" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "deseo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deseo ← ddeseo · deceo · deeso · desoe · desseo · dseeo · edseo
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "denegó" and "deseo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "denegó" vs "deseo" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "denegó" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deseo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #112,544 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denegó" and "deseo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denegar vs denegó". 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 #112,544 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.