Which to use
“divide” and “dividir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,514
- “divide” frequency rank
- #7,983
- “dividir” frequency rank
- 14497
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | divide | dividir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dividir o de dividirse. | Acción de separar, cortar en pedazos, para poder distribuir una cosa. |
Where the eye mixes divide and dividir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. divide runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against dividir's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between divide and dividir
A purely visual mix-up. divide ([d̪iˈβ̞ið̞e]) and dividir ([d̪iβ̞iˈð̞iɾ]) 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 14497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
divide is recorded at frequency rank #6,514, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪iˈβ̞ið̞e]. dividir is at rank #7,983, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪iβ̞iˈð̞iɾ].
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 14497, this pair ranks #283,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of divide vs dividir
Shared letters: div. Private to "divide": e. Private to "dividir": r.
"divide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "dividir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "divide" and "dividir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "divide" or "dividir" show up more?
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 "divide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dividir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #283,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "divide" and "dividir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dividir vs divisar". 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 #283,888 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.