cedenvscrecenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,407
“ceden” frequency rank
#7,839
“crecen” frequency rank
43246
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ceden crecen
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 indicativo de crecer.

Where the eye mixes ceden and crecen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ceden runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against crecen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
ceden
6 ch
crecen

Why the eye confuses ceden with crecen

A purely visual mix-up. ceden ([ˈseð̞ẽn]) and crecen ([ˈkɾesẽn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43246, 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]. crecen is at rank #7,839, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾesẽn].

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 43246, this pair ranks #143,727 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ceden vs crecen

Shared letters: cen. Private to "ceden": d. Private to "crecen": r.

"ceden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "crecen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ceden ← cceden · cdeen · cedden · cedenn · cedne · ceedn · ecden · seden
  • crecen ← ccrecen · cercen · crceen · creccen · crecenn · crecne · creecn · cresen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ceden" for "crecen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈseð̞ẽn] versus [ˈkɾesẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ceden" vs "crecen" - which ranks higher?
"crecen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,839 in our Spanish list, against #35,407 for "ceden". 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 "crecen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #143,727 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ceden" and "crecen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceden vs cederá". 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 #143,727 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