Which to use
“despega” and “desplegó” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,988
- “despega” frequency rank
- #25,998
- “desplegó” frequency rank
- 61986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despega | desplegó |
|---|---|---|
| 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 pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de desplegar. |
Where the eye mixes despega and desplegó
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. despega runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against desplegó's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between despega and desplegó
A purely visual mix-up. despega ([d̪esˈpeɣ̞a]) and desplegó ([d̪espleˈɣ̞o]) 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 61986, 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]. desplegó is at rank #25,998, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪espleˈɣ̞o].
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 61986, this pair ranks #53,603 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of despega vs desplegó
Shared letters: degps. Private to "despega": a. Private to "desplegó": ló.
"despega" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "desplegó" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- despega ← ddespega · depsega · desepga · despeag · despegga · despgea · desppega · desspega
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "despega" for "desplegó" ever safe?
Which is more common, "despega" or "desplegó"?
Useful next steps
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 "desplegó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,603 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despega" and "desplegó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despega 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 #53,603 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.