derramarvsderribarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#22,652
“derramar” frequency rank
#13,437
“derribar” frequency rank
36089
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature derramar derribar
Definition Verter, esparcir cosas líquidas o menudas. Echar abajo un edificio, construcción o muros.

Where the eye mixes derramar and derribar

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

8 ch
derramar
8 ch
derribar

Why the eye confuses derramar with derribar

A purely visual mix-up. derramar ([d̪eraˈmaɾ]) and derribar ([d̪eriˈβ̞aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

derramar is recorded at frequency rank #22,652, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eraˈmaɾ]. derribar is at rank #13,437, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eriˈβ̞aɾ].

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 36089, this pair ranks #182,533 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of derramar vs derribar

Shared letters: ader. Private to "derramar": m. Private to "derribar": bi.

"derramar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "derribar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • derramar ← dderramar · deramar · derarmar · derraamr · derramarr · derrammar · derramra · derrmaar
  • derribar ← dderribar · deribar · derirbar · derrbiar · derriabr · derribarr · derribbar · derribra

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "derramar" and "derribar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eraˈmaɾ] versus [d̪eriˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "derramar" vs "derribar" - which ranks higher?
"derribar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,437 in our Spanish list, against #22,652 for "derramar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "derramar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "derribar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #182,533 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "derramar" and "derribar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degradar vs derramar". 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 #182,533 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