describavsdescribióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,155
“describa” frequency rank
#7,008
“describió” frequency rank
46163
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature describa describió
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de describir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de describir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set describa and describió apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
describa
9 ch
describió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. describa ([d̪esˈkɾiβ̞a]) and describió ([d̪eskɾiˈβ̞jo]) 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 46163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

describa is recorded at frequency rank #39,155, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkɾiβ̞a]. describió is at rank #7,008, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eskɾiˈβ̞jo].

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 46163, this pair ranks #127,324 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of describa vs describió

Shared letters: bcdeirs. Private to "describa": a. Private to "describió": ó.

"describa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "describió" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • describaddescriba · decsriba · desccriba · descirba · descrbia · descriab · describba · descriva

Frequency comparison

describa#39,155
describió#7,008

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "describa" and "describió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈkɾiβ̞a] versus [d̪eskɾiˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "describa" or "describió"?
"describió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,008 in our Spanish list, against #39,155 for "describa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering describa vs describió

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “describa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list