destruyavsdestruyenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#26,405
“destruya” frequency rank
#13,673
“destruyen” frequency rank
40078
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature destruya destruyen
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de destruir o de destruirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de destruir o de destruirse.

Where the eye mixes destruya and destruyen

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

8 ch
destruya
9 ch
destruyen

Look-alike desk: destruya vs destruyen

A purely visual mix-up. destruya ([d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝa]) and destruyen ([d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝẽn]) 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 40078, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

destruya is recorded at frequency rank #26,405, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝa]. destruyen is at rank #13,673, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝẽn].

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 40078, this pair ranks #161,036 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of destruya vs destruyen

Shared letters: derstuy. Private to "destruya": a. Private to "destruyen": n.

"destruya" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVV  ·  "destruyen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • destruya ← ddestruya · desrtuya · desstruya · destrruya · destruay · destruyya · destryua · desttruya
  • destruyen ← ddestruyen · desrtuyen · desstruyen · destrruyen · destrueyn · destruyenn · destruyne · destruyyen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "destruya" for "destruyen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝa] versus [d̪esˈt̪ɾuʝẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "destruya" or "destruyen" show up more?
"destruyen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,673 in our Spanish list, against #26,405 for "destruya". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "destruya" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "destruyen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #161,036 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "destruya" and "destruyen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "destruya 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 #161,036 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