Which to use
“despega” and “despeja” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,988
- “despega” frequency rank
- #40,763
- “despeja” frequency rank
- 76751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despega | despeja |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de despegar o de despegarse. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de despejar. |
Where the eye mixes despega and despeja
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. despega and despeja follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses despega with despeja
A purely visual mix-up. despega ([d̪esˈpeɣ̞a]) and despeja ([d̪esˈpexa]) 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 a single letter - g in “despega” becomes j in “despeja”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
despega is recorded at frequency rank #35,988, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpeɣ̞a]. despeja is at rank #40,763, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈpexa].
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 76751, this pair ranks #17,165 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of despega vs despeja
Shared letters: adeps. Private to "despega": g. Private to "despeja": j.
"despega" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "despeja" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "despega" and "despeja" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "despega" or "despeja"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "despega" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despeja" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,165 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despega" and "despeja" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despeja vs despojar". 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 #17,165 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.