centrabavscerrabaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#40,704
“centraba” frequency rank
#22,600
“cerraba” frequency rank
63304
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature centraba cerraba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de centrar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cerrar o de cerrarse.

Where the eye mixes centraba and cerraba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. centraba runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against cerraba's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
centraba
7 ch
cerraba

Look-alike desk: centraba vs cerraba

A purely visual mix-up. centraba ([sẽn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) and cerraba ([seˈraβ̞a]) 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 63304, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

centraba is recorded at frequency rank #40,704, classified as averb, pronounced [sẽn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]. cerraba is at rank #22,600, tagged as averb, pronounced [seˈraβ̞a].

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 63304, this pair ranks #49,174 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of centraba vs cerraba

Shared letters: abcer. Private to "centraba": nt. Private to "cerraba": -.

"centraba" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "cerraba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • centraba ← ccentraba · cenntraba · cenrtaba · centarba · centraab · centrabba · centrava · centrbaa
  • cerraba ← ccerraba · ceraba · cerarba · cerraab · cerrabba · cerrava · cerrbaa · creraba

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "centraba" and "cerraba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([sẽn̪ˈt̪ɾaβ̞a] versus [seˈraβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "centraba" or "cerraba" show up more?
"cerraba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,600 in our Spanish list, against #40,704 for "centraba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "centraba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cerraba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #49,174 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "centraba" and "cerraba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "centraba vs centrará". 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 #49,174 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