Which to use
“duda” and “duela” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #656
- “duda” frequency rank
- #17,414
- “duela” frequency rank
- 18070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duda | duela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de dudar. Dificultad para elegir entre dos o más opciones, o suspensión de tal decisión. | Cada una de las tablas generalmente encorvadas, de que se componen las pipas, cubas, barriles, toneles, etc. |
Where the eye mixes duda and duela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: duda vs duela
A purely visual mix-up. duda ([ˈd̪uð̞a]) and duela ([ˈd̪wela]) 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 18070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duda is recorded at frequency rank #656, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪uð̞a]. duela is at rank #17,414, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪wela].
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 18070, this pair ranks #269,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of duda vs duela
Shared letters: adu. Private to "duda": -. Private to "duela": el.
"duda" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "duela" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "duda" and "duela" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "duda" or "duela"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "duda" and "duela" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "duda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #269,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duda" and "duela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Deva vs duela". 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 #269,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.