centrevscutreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: centre is a verb, cutre is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“centre” is a verb and “cutre” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,041
“centre” frequency rank
#33,521
“cutre” frequency rank
48562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature centre cutre
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de centrar. Tacaño, miserable.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set centre and cutre apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
centre
5 ch
cutre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: centre is [ˈsẽn̪t̪ɾe] while cutre is [ˈkut̪ɾe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

centre is recorded at frequency rank #15,041, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsẽn̪t̪ɾe]. cutre is at rank #33,521, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkut̪ɾe].

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 48562, this pair ranks #113,791 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of centre vs cutre

Shared letters: cert. Private to "centre": n. Private to "cutre": u.

"centre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "cutre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • centreccentre · cenntre · cenrte · centrre · centtre · cetnre · cnetre · ecntre
  • cutreccutre · cture · curte · cuter · cutrre · cuttre · uctre

Frequency comparison

centre#15,041
cutre#33,521

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "centre" and "cutre" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "centre" is a verb and "cutre" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "centre" or "cutre"?
"centre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,041 in our Spanish list, against #33,521 for "cutre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering centre vs cutre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “centre”; for an adjective, it's “cutre”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “centre” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list