Which to use
“deseaban” and “destacan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,976
- “deseaban” frequency rank
- #5,821
- “destacan” frequency rank
- 27797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deseaban | destacan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de desear. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de destacar. |
Where the eye mixes deseaban and destacan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. deseaban (CVCVVCVC) and destacan (CVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: deseaban vs destacan
A purely visual mix-up. deseaban ([d̪eseˈaβ̞ãn]) and destacan ([d̪esˈt̪akãn]) 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 27797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deseaban is recorded at frequency rank #21,976, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈaβ̞ãn]. destacan is at rank #5,821, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪akãn].
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 27797, this pair ranks #225,110 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deseaban vs destacan
Shared letters: adens. Private to "deseaban": b. Private to "destacan": ct.
"deseaban" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "destacan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deseaban" for "destacan" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deseaban" or "destacan"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "deseaban" and "destacan" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "deseaban" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "destacan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,110 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deseaban" and "destacan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deseaban vs deseadas". 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 #225,110 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.