Which to use
“devuelva” and “devuelvan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,817
- “devuelva” frequency rank
- #16,818
- “devuelvan” frequency rank
- 33635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devuelva | devuelvan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de devolver. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de devolver. |
Where the eye mixes devuelva and devuelvan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses devuelva with devuelvan
A purely visual mix-up. devuelva ([d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞a]) and devuelvan ([d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “devuelva” sits inside “devuelvan”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devuelva is recorded at frequency rank #16,817, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞a]. devuelvan is at rank #16,818, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞ãn].
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 33635, this pair ranks #195,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of devuelva vs devuelvan
Shared letters: adeluv. Private to "devuelva": -. Private to "devuelvan": n.
"devuelva" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV · "devuelvan" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "devuelva" for "devuelvan" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "devuelva" or "devuelvan" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "devuelva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devuelvan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devuelva" and "devuelvan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devueltas vs devuelvan". 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 #195,746 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.