deseadavsdeseanWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,314
“deseada” frequency rank
#5,818
“desean” frequency rank
22132
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deseada desean
Definition Forma del femenino de deseado, participio de desear. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desear.

Where the eye mixes deseada and desean

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. deseada runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against desean's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
deseada
6 ch
desean

Visual trap between deseada and desean

A purely visual mix-up. deseada ([d̪eseˈað̞a]) and desean ([d̪eˈseãn]) 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 22132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deseada is recorded at frequency rank #16,314, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈað̞a]. desean is at rank #5,818, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈseãn].

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 22132, this pair ranks #251,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of deseada vs desean

Shared letters: ades. Private to "deseada": -. Private to "desean": n.

"deseada" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "desean" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deseada ← ddeseada · deceada · deesada · desaeda · deseaad · deseadda · desedaa · desseada
  • desean ← ddesean · decean · deesan · desaen · deseann · desena · dessean · dseean

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deseada" and "desean" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eseˈað̞a] versus [d̪eˈseãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deseada" or "desean"?
"desean" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,818 in our Spanish list, against #16,314 for "deseada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deseada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "desean" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #251,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deseada" and "desean" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deseada vs deseosa". 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 #251,762 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