Which to use
“despedí” and “despega” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,159
- “despedí” frequency rank
- #35,988
- “despega” frequency rank
- 75147
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despedí | despega |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de despedir. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de despegar o de despegarse. |
Where the eye mixes despedí and despega
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. despedí and despega follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: despedí vs despega
A purely visual mix-up. despedí ([d̪espeˈð̞i]) and despega ([d̪esˈpeɣ̞a]) 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 75147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
despedí is recorded at frequency rank #39,159, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪espeˈð̞i]. despega is at rank #35,988, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpeɣ̞a].
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 75147, this pair ranks #20,111 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of despedí vs despega
Shared letters: deps. Private to "despedí": í. Private to "despega": ag.
"despedí" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "despega" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- despega ← ddespega · depsega · desepga · despeag · despegga · despgea · desppega · desspega
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "despedí" and "despega" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "despedí" vs "despega" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "despedí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despega" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,111 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despedí" and "despega" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despedí vs despeja". 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 #20,111 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.