Which to use
“desvían” and “desviar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,521
- “desvían” frequency rank
- #13,227
- “desviar” frequency rank
- 56748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desvían | desviar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desviar o de desviarse. | Hacer que alguien o algo se salga de la ruta o dirección que llevaba o quería seguir. |
Where the eye mixes desvían and desviar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. desvían and desviar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between desvían and desviar
A purely visual mix-up. desvían ([d̪esˈβ̞iãn]) and desviar ([d̪esˈβ̞jaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desvían is recorded at frequency rank #43,521, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈβ̞iãn]. desviar is at rank #13,227, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈβ̞jaɾ].
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 56748, this pair ranks #73,285 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of desvían vs desviar
Shared letters: adesv. Private to "desvían": ní. Private to "desviar": ir.
"desvían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "desviar" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- desviar ← ddesviar · desbiar · desivar · dessviar · desvair · desviarr · desvira · desvviar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "desvían" and "desviar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "desvían" or "desviar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "desvían" and "desviar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "desvían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desviar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,285 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desvían" and "desviar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "desván vs desvían". 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 #73,285 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.