Which to use
“débito” is a noun and “décimo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,575
- “débito” frequency rank
- #9,044
- “décimo” frequency rank
- 23619
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débito | décimo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dívida | refere-se àquele que ocupa a posição dez em uma série; o que vem depois do nono |
Where the eye mixes débito and décimo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. débito and décimo follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses débito with décimo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: débito is /ˈdɛ.bi.tu/ while décimo is /ˈdɛ.si.mu/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débito is recorded at frequency rank #14,575, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɛ.bi.tu/. décimo is at rank #9,044, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛ.si.mu/.
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 23619, this pair ranks #46,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of débito vs décimo
Shared letters: dioé. Private to "débito": bt. Private to "décimo": cm.
"débito" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décimo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "débito" and "décimo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "débito" or "décimo" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "débito" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décimo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débito" and "décimo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décimo vs dízimo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #46,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.