Which to use
“duela” is a noun and “duelen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,414
- “duela” frequency rank
- #17,948
- “duelen” frequency rank
- 35362
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | duela | duelen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cada una de las tablas generalmente encorvadas, de que se componen las pipas, cubas, barriles, toneles, etc. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de dolar. |
Where the eye mixes duela and duelen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. duela runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against duelen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: duela vs duelen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: duela is [ˈd̪wela] while duelen is [ˈd̪welẽn]. 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 35362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
duela is recorded at frequency rank #17,414, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈd̪wela]. duelen is at rank #17,948, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪welẽn].
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 35362, this pair ranks #186,509 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of duela vs duelen
Shared letters: delu. Private to "duela": a. Private to "duelen": n.
"duela" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "duelen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "duela" and "duelen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "duela" or "duelen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "duela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "duelen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #186,509 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "duela" and "duelen" 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 #186,509 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.