Which to use
“carece” and “carecer” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,114
- “carece” frequency rank
- #24,414
- “carecer” frequency rank
- 31528
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | carece | carecer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de carecer. | Tener falta de alguna cosa |
Where the eye mixes carece and carecer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. carece runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against carecer's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: carece vs carecer
A purely visual mix-up. carece ([kaˈɾese]) and carecer ([kaɾeˈseɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “carece” sits inside “carecer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31528, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
carece is recorded at frequency rank #7,114, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈɾese]. carecer is at rank #24,414, tagged as averb, pronounced [kaɾeˈseɾ].
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 31528, this pair ranks #206,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of carece vs carecer
Shared letters: acer. Private to "carece": -. Private to "carecer": -.
"carece" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "carecer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "carece" and "carecer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "carece" or "carecer"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "carece" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "carecer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "carece" and "carecer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carecer vs catéter". 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 #206,636 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.