cebovscesConfusable pair

Quick tell: cebo is a noun, ces is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cebo” is a noun and “ces” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,774
“cebo” frequency rank
#23,714
“ces” frequency rank
48488
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cebo ces
Definition Carnaza que se pone en el anzuelo para que pique un pez. Estos.

Where the eye mixes cebo and ces

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

4 ch
cebo
3 ch
ces

Why the eye confuses cebo with ces

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cebo is [ˈseβ̞o] while ces is [se]. 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 pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cebo is recorded at frequency rank #24,774, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈseβ̞o]. ces is at rank #23,714, tagged as apron, pronounced [se].

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 48488, this pair ranks #114,212 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cebo vs ces

Shared letters: ce. Private to "cebo": bo. Private to "ces": s.

"cebo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "ces" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cebocbeo · ccebo · cebbo · ceob · cevo · ecbo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cebo" for "ces" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cebo" is a noun and "ces" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "cebo" vs "ces" - which ranks higher?
"ces" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,714 in our Spanish list, against #24,774 for "cebo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "cebo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #114,212 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cebo" and "ces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceba vs cebo". 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 #114,212 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