derribarvsderrocarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,437
“derribar” frequency rank
#15,585
“derrocar” frequency rank
29022
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature derribar derrocar
Definition Echar abajo un edificio, construcción o muros. Retirar a alguien de su situación o estado especialmente con el uso de la fuerza.

Where the eye mixes derribar and derrocar

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

8 ch
derribar
8 ch
derrocar

Look-alike desk: derribar vs derrocar

A purely visual mix-up. derribar ([d̪eriˈβ̞aɾ]) and derrocar ([d̪eroˈkaɾ]) 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 29022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

derribar is recorded at frequency rank #13,437, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eriˈβ̞aɾ]. derrocar is at rank #15,585, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eroˈkaɾ].

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 29022, this pair ranks #219,072 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of derribar vs derrocar

Shared letters: ader. Private to "derribar": bi. Private to "derrocar": co.

"derribar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "derrocar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • derribar ← dderribar · deribar · derirbar · derrbiar · derriabr · derribarr · derribbar · derribra
  • derrocar ← dderrocar · derocar · derorcar · derrcoar · derroacr · derrocarr · derroccar · derrocra

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "derribar" and "derrocar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eriˈβ̞aɾ] versus [d̪eroˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "derribar" vs "derrocar" - which ranks higher?
"derribar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,437 in our Spanish list, against #15,585 for "derrocar". 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 "derribar" and "derrocar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "derribar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "derrocar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #219,072 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "derribar" and "derrocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derribar vs derrumbar". 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 #219,072 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