débitovsdécimoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: débito is a noun, décimo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set débito and décimo apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
débito
6 ch
décimo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

débito#14,575
décimo#9,044

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débito" and "décimo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "débito" is a noun and "décimo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "débito" or "décimo"?
"décimo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,044 in our Portuguese list, against #14,575 for "débito". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering débito vs décimo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “débito”; for an adjective, it's “décimo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “débito” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list