Which to use
“dicte” is a verb and “dique” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,871
- “dicte” frequency rank
- #17,113
- “dique” frequency rank
- 47984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dicte | dique |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de dictar. | Valla hecha para contener el agua. |
Where the eye mixes dicte and dique
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dicte vs dique
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dicte is [ˈd̪ikt̪e] while dique is [ˈd̪ike]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dicte is recorded at frequency rank #30,871, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ikt̪e]. dique is at rank #17,113, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪ike].
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 47984, this pair ranks #116,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dicte vs dique
Shared letters: dei. Private to "dicte": ct. Private to "dique": qu.
"dicte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dique" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dicte" for "dique" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "dicte" or "dique" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dicte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dique" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #116,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dicte" and "dique" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decae vs dicte". 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 #116,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.