Which to use
“desde” is a preposition and “donde” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #61
- “desde” frequency rank
- #71
- “donde” frequency rank
- 132
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desde | donde |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Preposición que indica el origen o inicio de una actividad, tanto en sentido locativo, como cronológico. | Indica el sitio de la acción o hecho. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desde and donde apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
desde and donde form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desde is recorded at frequency rank #61, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈd̪esð̞e]. donde is at rank #71, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈd̪õn̪d̪e].
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 132, this pair ranks #323,750 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "desde" and "donde" be used interchangeably?
Remembering desde vs donde
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “desde”; for an adverb, it's “donde”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desde” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable