desearvsdeslealWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: desear is a verb, desleal is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“desear” is a verb and “desleal” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,138
“desear” frequency rank
#23,024
“desleal” frequency rank
30162
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desear desleal
Definition Querer una cosa con mucho anhelo. Que no cumple su palabra o su compromiso de fidelidad, lealtad, veracidad y reciprocidad en el trato honesto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desear and desleal apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
desear
7 ch
desleal

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: desear is [d̪eseˈaɾ] while desleal is [d̪esleˈal]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desear is recorded at frequency rank #7,138, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eseˈaɾ]. desleal is at rank #23,024, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪esleˈal].

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 30162, this pair ranks #213,366 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of desear vs desleal

Shared letters: ades. Private to "desear": r. Private to "desleal": l.

"desear" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "desleal" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desearddesear · decear · deesar · desaer · desearr · desera · dessear · dseear
  • deslealddesleal · delseal · deselal · deslael · desleall · deslela · deslleal · dessleal

Frequency comparison

desear#7,138
desleal#23,024

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desear" and "desleal" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "desear" is a verb and "desleal" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "desear" or "desleal"?
"desear" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,138 in our Spanish list, against #23,024 for "desleal". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering desear vs desleal

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “desear”; for an adjective, it's “desleal”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desear” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list