Which to use
“celda” is a noun and “cerca” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,676
- “celda” frequency rank
- #351
- “cerca” frequency rank
- 8027
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | celda | cerca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Habitación en la que se recluye a los presos. | A pequeña distancia. |
Where the eye mixes celda and cerca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: celda vs cerca
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: celda is [ˈsel̪d̪a] while cerca is [ˈseɾka]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
celda is recorded at frequency rank #7,676, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsel̪d̪a]. cerca is at rank #351, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈseɾka].
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 8027, this pair ranks #306,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of celda vs cerca
Shared letters: ace. Private to "celda": dl. Private to "cerca": r.
"celda" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cerca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "celda" and "cerca" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "celda" or "cerca" show up more?
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 "celda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cerca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "celda" and "cerca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceba vs celda". 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 #306,217 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.