desfilanvsdespidanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#41,855
“desfilan” frequency rank
#38,640
“despidan” frequency rank
80495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desfilan despidan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desfilar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de despedir o de despedirse.

Where the eye mixes desfilan and despidan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. desfilan and despidan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
desfilan
8 ch
despidan

Why the eye confuses desfilan with despidan

A purely visual mix-up. desfilan ([d̪esˈfilãn]) and despidan ([d̪esˈpið̞ãn]) 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 80495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desfilan is recorded at frequency rank #41,855, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈfilãn]. despidan is at rank #38,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpið̞ãn].

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 80495, this pair ranks #11,575 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of desfilan vs despidan

Shared letters: adeins. Private to "desfilan": fl. Private to "despidan": p.

"desfilan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "despidan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desfilan ← ddesfilan · defsilan · desffilan · desfialn · desfilann · desfillan · desfilna · desflian
  • despidan ← ddespidan · depsidan · desipdan · despdian · despiadn · despidann · despiddan · despidna

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desfilan" and "despidan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈfilãn] versus [d̪esˈpið̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desfilan" or "despidan" show up more?
"despidan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,640 in our Spanish list, against #41,855 for "desfilan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "desfilan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "despidan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,575 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "desfilan" and "despidan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desfilan vs desfilando". 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 #11,575 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