derivanvsderivarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,105
“derivan” frequency rank
#18,785
“derivar” frequency rank
35890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature derivan derivar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de derivar o de derivarse. Proceder una cosa de otra en cuanto a su causa o modelo.

Where the eye mixes derivan and derivar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. derivan and derivar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
derivan
7 ch
derivar

Visual trap between derivan and derivar

A purely visual mix-up. derivan ([d̪eˈɾiβ̞ãn]) and derivar ([d̪eɾiˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “derivan” becomes r in “derivar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

derivan is recorded at frequency rank #17,105, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈɾiβ̞ãn]. derivar is at rank #18,785, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eɾiˈβ̞aɾ].

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 35890, this pair ranks #183,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of derivan vs derivar

Shared letters: adeirv. Private to "derivan": n. Private to "derivar": -.

"derivan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "derivar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • derivan ← dderivan · deirvan · deriavn · deriban · derivann · derivna · derivvan · derrivan
  • derivar ← dderivar · deirvar · deriavr · derivarr · derivra · derivvar · derviar · dreivar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "derivan" and "derivar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈɾiβ̞ãn] versus [d̪eɾiˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "derivan" or "derivar"?
"derivan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,105 in our Spanish list, against #18,785 for "derivar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "derivan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "derivar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #183,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "derivan" and "derivar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derivar vs deriven". 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 #183,607 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list