depavsduelaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,846
“depa” frequency rank
#17,414
“duela” frequency rank
59260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature depa duela
Definition Departamento Cada una de las tablas generalmente encorvadas, de que se componen las pipas, cubas, barriles, toneles, etc.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
depa
5 ch
duela

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. depa ([ˈd̪epa]) and duela ([ˈd̪wela]) 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 59260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

depa is recorded at frequency rank #41,846, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪epa]. duela is at rank #17,414, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪wela].

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 59260, this pair ranks #63,295 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of depa vs duela

Shared letters: ade. Private to "depa": p. Private to "duela": lu.

"depa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "duela" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • depaddepa · deap · deppa · dpea · edpa
  • dueladduela · deula · dueal · duella · dulea · udela

Frequency comparison

depa#41,846
duela#17,414

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "depa" and "duela" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈd̪epa] versus [ˈd̪wela]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "depa" or "duela"?
"duela" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,414 in our Spanish list, against #41,846 for "depa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering depa vs duela

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 “depa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list