destruidovsdestruyoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“destruido” and “destruyo” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,512
“destruido” frequency rank
#42,954
“destruyo” frequency rank
49466
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature destruido destruyo
Definition Participio de destruir o de destruirse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de destruir o de destruirse.

Where the eye mixes destruido and destruyo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. destruido runs 9 letters (CVCCCVVCV) against destruyo's 8 (CVCCCVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
destruido
8 ch
destruyo

Look-alike desk: destruido vs destruyo

A purely visual mix-up. destruido ([d̪esˈt̪ɾwið̞o]) and destruyo ([d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝo]) 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 49466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

destruido is recorded at frequency rank #6,512, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪ɾwið̞o]. destruyo is at rank #42,954, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝo].

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 49466, this pair ranks #108,710 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of destruido vs destruyo

Shared letters: deorstu. Private to "destruido": i. Private to "destruyo": y.

"destruido" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCV  ·  "destruyo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • destruido ← ddestruido · desrtuido · desstruido · destriudo · destrruido · destrudio · destruiddo · destruiod
  • destruyo ← ddestruyo · desrtuyo · desstruyo · destrruyo · destruoy · destruyyo · destryuo · desttruyo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "destruido" for "destruyo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈt̪ɾwið̞o] versus [d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "destruido" or "destruyo"?
"destruido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,512 in our Spanish list, against #42,954 for "destruyo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "destruido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "destruyo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #108,710 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "destruido" and "destruyo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "destrozo vs destruyo". 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 #108,710 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list