derivarvsderivóWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,785
“derivar” frequency rank
#23,747
“derivó” frequency rank
42532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature derivar derivó
Definition Proceder una cosa de otra en cuanto a su causa o modelo. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de derivar.

Where the eye mixes derivar and derivó

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. derivar 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
derivar
6 ch
derivó

Why the eye confuses derivar with derivó

A purely visual mix-up. derivar ([d̪eɾiˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 42532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

derivar is recorded at frequency rank #18,785, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eɾiˈβ̞aɾ]. 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 42532, this pair ranks #147,688 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of derivar vs derivó

Shared letters: deirv. Private to "derivar": a. Private to "derivó": ó.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • derivar ← dderivar · deirvar · deriavr · derivarr · derivra · derivvar · derviar · dreivar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "derivar" and "derivó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eɾiˈβ̞aɾ] versus [d̪eɾiˈβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "derivar" or "derivó" show up more?
"derivar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,785 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.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "derivar" and "derivó" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "derivar" 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 #147,688 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "derivar" 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 #147,688 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