cedenvscesenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,407
“ceden” frequency rank
#45,189
“cesen” frequency rank
80596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ceden cesen
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ceder. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de cesar.

Where the eye mixes ceden and cesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ceden and cesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
ceden
5 ch
cesen

Look-alike desk: ceden vs cesen

A purely visual mix-up. ceden ([ˈseð̞ẽn]) and cesen ([ˈsesẽn]) 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 a single letter - d in “ceden” becomes s in “cesen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ceden is recorded at frequency rank #35,407, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈseð̞ẽn]. cesen is at rank #45,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsesẽn].

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 80596, this pair ranks #11,450 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ceden vs cesen

Shared letters: cen. Private to "ceden": d. Private to "cesen": s.

"ceden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "cesen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ceden ← cceden · cdeen · cedden · cedenn · cedne · ceedn · ecden · seden
  • cesen ← ccesen · cecen · ceesn · cesenn · cesne · cessen · cseen · ecsen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ceden" and "cesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈseð̞ẽn] versus [ˈsesẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ceden" vs "cesen" - which ranks higher?
"ceden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,407 in our Spanish list, against #45,189 for "cesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ceden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,450 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ceden" and "cesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ceres vs cesen". 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 #11,450 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