cervscocerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cer is a noun, cocer is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cer” is a noun and “cocer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,564
“cer” frequency rank
#31,266
“cocer” frequency rank
69830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cer cocer
Definition Cielo Cocinar sumergiendo los alimentos en agua muy caliente o hirviendo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cer and cocer apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
cer
5 ch
cocer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cer is / t͡ʃer / while cocer is [koˈseɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “cer” sits inside “cocer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cer is recorded at frequency rank #38,564, classified as anoun, pronounced / t͡ʃer /. cocer is at rank #31,266, tagged as averb, pronounced [koˈseɾ].

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 69830, this pair ranks #31,117 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cer vs cocer

Shared letters: cer. Private to "cer": -. Private to "cocer": o.

"cer" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "cocer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cocerccocer · ccoer · coccer · cocerr · cocre · coecr · occer

Frequency comparison

cer#38,564
cocer#31,266

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cer" and "cocer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cer" is a noun and "cocer" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cer" or "cocer"?
"cocer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,266 in our Spanish list, against #38,564 for "cer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cer vs cocer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “cer”; for a verb, it's “cocer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cer” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list