docevsdotaTell them apart

Quick tell: doce is a num, dota is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“doce” is a num and “dota” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,825
“doce” frequency rank
#25,229
“dota” frequency rank
28054
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature doce dota
Definition Once y uno. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dotar.

Where the eye mixes doce and dota

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
doce
4 ch
dota

Why the eye confuses doce with dota

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: doce is [ˈd̪ose] while dota is [ˈd̪ot̪a]. 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 (num vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

doce is recorded at frequency rank #2,825, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈd̪ose]. dota is at rank #25,229, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ot̪a].

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 28054, this pair ranks #223,882 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of doce vs dota

Shared letters: do. Private to "doce": ce. Private to "dota": at.

"doce" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "dota" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • docedcoe · ddoce · docce · doec · dose · odce
  • dotaddota · doat · dotta · dtoa · odta

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "doce" for "dota" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "doce" is a num and "dota" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "doce" or "dota" show up more?
"doce" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,825 in our Spanish list, against #25,229 for "dota". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "doce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dota" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #223,882 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "doce" and "dota" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dont vs dota". 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 #223,882 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