cejavsceroTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,626
“ceja” frequency rank
#2,152
“cero” frequency rank
19778
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ceja cero
Definition Área cubierta de pelo ubicada aproximadamente 2 cm sobre el ojo en la cara humana y también en la mayor parte de los primates y otros mamíferos. Nombre del número 0.

Where the eye mixes ceja and cero

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

4 ch
ceja
4 ch
cero

Look-alike desk: ceja vs cero

A purely visual mix-up. ceja ([ˈsexa]) and cero ([ˈseɾo]) 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 19778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ceja is recorded at frequency rank #17,626, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsexa]. cero is at rank #2,152, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈseɾo].

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 19778, this pair ranks #262,240 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ceja vs cero

Shared letters: ce. Private to "ceja": aj. Private to "cero": or.

"ceja" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cero" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cejacceja · ceaj · cejja · cjea · ecja · seja
  • ceroccero · ceor · ecro · sero

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ceja" for "cero" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsexa] versus [ˈseɾo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ceja" or "cero"?
"cero" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,152 in our Spanish list, against #17,626 for "ceja". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ceja" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cero" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #262,240 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ceja" and "cero" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceba vs ceja". 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 #262,240 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