devuelvavsdevuelvenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,817
“devuelva” frequency rank
#20,335
“devuelven” frequency rank
37152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature devuelva devuelven
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 indicativo de devolver.

Where the eye mixes devuelva and devuelven

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
devuelva
9 ch
devuelven

Why the eye confuses devuelva with devuelven

A purely visual mix-up. devuelva ([d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞a]) and devuelven ([d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞ẽn]) 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 37152, 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]. devuelven is at rank #20,335, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞ẽn].

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 37152, this pair ranks #176,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of devuelva vs devuelven

Shared letters: deluv. Private to "devuelva": a. Private to "devuelven": n.

"devuelva" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "devuelven" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • devuelvaddevuelva · debuelba · deuvelva · deveulva · devuelav · devuellva · devuelvva · devuevla
  • devuelvenddevuelven · debuelben · deuvelven · deveulven · devuelevn · devuellven · devuelvenn · devuelvne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "devuelva" for "devuelven" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞a] versus [d̪eˈβ̞welβ̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "devuelva" or "devuelven"?
"devuelva" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,817 in our Spanish list, against #20,335 for "devuelven". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "devuelven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #176,826 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "devuelva" and "devuelven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devueltas vs devuelva". 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 #176,826 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