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 spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set despegar and despegue apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
despegar and despegue form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "despegar" and "despegue" be used interchangeably?
Remembering despegar vs despegue
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “despegar”; for a noun, it's “despegue”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “despegar” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable