describirvsdescriboWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,301
“describir” frequency rank
#47,714
“describo” frequency rank
53015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature describir describo
Definition Decir las características de algo o alguien. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de describir.

Where the eye mixes describir and describo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
describir
8 ch
describo

Why the eye confuses describir with describo

A purely visual mix-up. describir ([d̪eskɾiˈβ̞iɾ]) and describo ([d̪esˈkɾiβ̞o]) 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 53015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

describir is recorded at frequency rank #5,301, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eskɾiˈβ̞iɾ]. describo is at rank #47,714, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkɾiβ̞o].

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 53015, this pair ranks #89,950 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of describir vs describo

Shared letters: bcdeirs. Private to "describir": -. Private to "describo": o.

"describir" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "describo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • describirddescribir · decsribir · desccribir · descirbir · descrbiir · describbir · describirr · describri
  • describoddescribo · decsribo · desccribo · descirbo · descrbio · describbo · descriob · descrivo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "describir" and "describo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eskɾiˈβ̞iɾ] versus [d̪esˈkɾiβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "describir" vs "describo" - which ranks higher?
"describir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,301 in our Spanish list, against #47,714 for "describo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "describir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "describo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #89,950 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "describir" and "describo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "describes vs describo". 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 #89,950 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