desfilanvsdesvíanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#41,855
“desfilan” frequency rank
#43,521
“desvían” frequency rank
85376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature desfilan desvían
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 indicativo de desviar o de desviarse.

Where the eye mixes desfilan and desvían

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. desfilan runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against desvían's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
desfilan
7 ch
desvían

Visual trap between desfilan and desvían

A purely visual mix-up. desfilan ([d̪esˈfilãn]) and desvían ([d̪esˈβ̞iãn]) 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 85376, 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]. desvían is at rank #43,521, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈβ̞iãn].

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 85376, this pair ranks #6,182 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of desfilan vs desvían

Shared letters: adens. Private to "desfilan": fil. Private to "desvían": ví.

"desfilan" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "desvían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desfilan ← ddesfilan · defsilan · desffilan · desfialn · desfilann · desfillan · desfilna · desflian

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desfilan" and "desvían" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈfilãn] versus [d̪esˈβ̞iãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "desfilan" or "desvían" show up more?
"desfilan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,855 in our Spanish list, against #43,521 for "desvían". 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 "desvían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #6,182 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "desfilan" and "desvían" 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 #6,182 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