Which to use
“despegar” is a verb and “despegue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,558
- “despegar” frequency rank
- #15,345
- “despegue” frequency rank
- 31903
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despegar | despegue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Separarse de la superficie, iniciar el vuelo, especialmente un avión. | Acción o efecto de despegar. |
Where the eye mixes despegar and despegue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. despegar (CVCCVCVC) and despegue (CVCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses despegar with despegue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: despegar is [d̪espeˈɣ̞aɾ] while despegue is [d̪esˈpeɣ̞e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
despegar is recorded at frequency rank #16,558, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪espeˈɣ̞aɾ]. despegue is at rank #15,345, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈpeɣ̞e].
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 31903, this pair ranks #204,743 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of despegar vs despegue
Shared letters: degps. Private to "despegar": ar. Private to "despegue": u.
"despegar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "despegue" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "despegar" for "despegue" ever safe?
Frequency check: "despegar" vs "despegue" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "despegar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despegue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #204,743 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despegar" and "despegue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despegar 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 #204,743 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.