Which to use
“descuida” is a verb and “descuido” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,802
- “descuida” frequency rank
- #16,072
- “descuido” frequency rank
- 42874
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | descuida | descuido |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de descuidar. | Espacio de tiempo en el que uno deja de prestar atención a lo que está haciendo, normalmente con consecuencias negativas. |
Where the eye mixes descuida and descuido
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descuida and descuido follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between descuida and descuido
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: descuida is [d̪esˈkwið̞a] while descuido is [d̪esˈkwið̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “descuida” becomes o in “descuido”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42874, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
descuida is recorded at frequency rank #26,802, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkwið̞a]. descuido is at rank #16,072, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈkwið̞o].
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 42874, this pair ranks #145,808 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of descuida vs descuido
Shared letters: cdeisu. Private to "descuida": a. Private to "descuido": o.
"descuida" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "descuido" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "descuida" for "descuido" ever safe?
Which is more common, "descuida" or "descuido"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "descuida" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "descuido" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,808 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "descuida" and "descuido" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "describa vs descuida". 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 #145,808 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.