cebavscimaConfusable pair

Which to use

“ceba” and “cima” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,502
“ceba” frequency rank
#5,590
“cima” frequency rank
55092
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ceba cima
Definition Alimentación abundante y esmerada que para que engorde se da al ganado, especialmente al que es comido por el ser humano. Punto más alto de algo.

Where the eye mixes ceba and cima

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
ceba
4 ch
cima

Why the eye confuses ceba with cima

A purely visual mix-up. ceba ([ˈseβ̞a]) and cima ([ˈsima]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ceba is recorded at frequency rank #49,502, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈseβ̞a]. cima is at rank #5,590, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsima].

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 55092, this pair ranks #80,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ceba vs cima

Shared letters: ac. Private to "ceba": be. Private to "cima": im.

"ceba" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cima" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cebacbea · cceba · ceab · cebba · ceva · ecba · seba
  • cimaccima · ciam · cimma · cmia · icma

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ceba" and "cima" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈseβ̞a] versus [ˈsima]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ceba" or "cima"?
"cima" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,590 in our Spanish list, against #49,502 for "ceba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ceba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #80,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ceba" and "cima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceba vs Cova". 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 #80,426 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list