devaluaciónvsdevoluciónConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,674
“devaluación” frequency rank
#10,314
“devolución” frequency rank
23988
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature devaluación devolución
Definition Acción o efecto de devaluar (disminuir el valor de algo). Acción de devolver

Where the eye mixes devaluación and devolución

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. devaluación runs 11 letters (CVCVCVVCVVC) against devolución's 10 (CVCVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
devaluación
10 ch
devolución

Why the eye confuses devaluación with devolución

A purely visual mix-up. devaluación ([d̪eβ̞alwaˈsjõn]) and devolución ([d̪eβ̞oluˈsjõn]) 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 23988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

devaluación is recorded at frequency rank #13,674, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eβ̞alwaˈsjõn]. devolución is at rank #10,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪eβ̞oluˈsjõn].

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 23988, this pair ranks #243,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of devaluación vs devolución

Shared letters: cdeilnuvó. Private to "devaluación": a. Private to "devolución": o.

"devaluación" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVVC  ·  "devolución" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "devaluación" and "devolución" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eβ̞alwaˈsjõn] versus [d̪eβ̞oluˈsjõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "devaluación" or "devolución" show up more?
"devolución" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,314 in our Spanish list, against #13,674 for "devaluación". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "devaluación" and "devolución" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "devaluación" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "devolución" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #243,253 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "devaluación" and "devolución" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devaluación vs devastación". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #243,253 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