deslizarvsdesplazarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,066
“deslizar” frequency rank
#21,978
“desplazar” frequency rank
69044
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deslizar desplazar
Definition Hacer que algo se desplace en contacto continuo con una superficie, rozándola suavemente con fricción leve. Sacar algo o a alguien del sitio en que se encontraba; mover a alguien o algo de su lugar original.

Where the eye mixes deslizar and desplazar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. deslizar runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against desplazar's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
deslizar
9 ch
desplazar

Visual trap between deslizar and desplazar

A purely visual mix-up. deslizar ([d̪esliˈsaɾ]) and desplazar ([d̪esplaˈsaɾ]) 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 69044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deslizar is recorded at frequency rank #47,066, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esliˈsaɾ]. desplazar is at rank #21,978, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esplaˈsaɾ].

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 69044, this pair ranks #32,990 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deslizar vs desplazar

Shared letters: adelrsz. Private to "deslizar": i. Private to "desplazar": p.

"deslizar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "desplazar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deslizar ← ddeslizar · delsizar · desilzar · desliazr · deslizarr · deslizra · deslizzar · desllizar
  • desplazar ← ddesplazar · depslazar · deslpazar · despalzar · desplaazr · desplazarr · desplazra · desplazzar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "deslizar" and "desplazar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esliˈsaɾ] versus [d̪esplaˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "deslizar" vs "desplazar" - which ranks higher?
"desplazar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,978 in our Spanish list, against #47,066 for "deslizar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "deslizar" and "desplazar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deslizar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "desplazar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #32,990 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deslizar" and "desplazar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deslizar vs deslizarse". 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 #32,990 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