derivanvsderivóConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#17,105
“derivan” frequency rank
#23,747
“derivó” frequency rank
40852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature derivan derivó
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de derivar o de derivarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de derivar.

Where the eye mixes derivan and derivó

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. derivan runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against derivó's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
derivan
6 ch
derivó

Look-alike desk: derivan vs derivó

A purely visual mix-up. derivan ([d̪eˈɾiβ̞ãn]) and derivó ([d̪eɾiˈβ̞o]) 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 40852, 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]. derivó is at rank #23,747, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eɾiˈβ̞o].

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 40852, this pair ranks #156,849 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of derivan vs derivó

Shared letters: deirv. Private to "derivan": an. Private to "derivó": ó.

"derivan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "derivó" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • derivan ← dderivan · deirvan · deriavn · deriban · derivann · derivna · derivvan · derrivan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "derivan" and "derivó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈɾiβ̞ãn] versus [d̪eɾiˈβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "derivan" or "derivó"?
"derivan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,105 in our Spanish list, against #23,747 for "derivó". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "derivó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #156,849 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "derivan" and "derivó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derivó vs divo". 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 #156,849 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