Which to use
“diablo” is a noun and “dobló” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,114
- “diablo” frequency rank
- #39,177
- “dobló” frequency rank
- 42291
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | diablo | dobló |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Entidad sobrenatural que, según algunas religiones, tienta a los humanos a cometer el mal. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de doblar. |
Where the eye mixes diablo and dobló
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. diablo runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against dobló's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses diablo with dobló
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: diablo is [ˈd̪jaβ̞lo] while dobló is [d̪oˈβ̞lo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
diablo is recorded at frequency rank #3,114, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪jaβ̞lo]. dobló is at rank #39,177, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪oˈβ̞lo].
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 42291, this pair ranks #149,049 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of diablo vs dobló
Shared letters: bdlo. Private to "diablo": ai. Private to "dobló": ó.
"diablo" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "dobló" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- diablo ← daiblo · ddiablo · diabblo · diabllo · diabol · dialbo · diavlo · dibalo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "diablo" and "dobló" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "diablo" or "dobló"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "diablo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dobló" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,049 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "diablo" and "dobló" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dobló vs dojo". 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 #149,049 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.