Which to use
“cerca” is an adverb and “ceros” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #351
- “cerca” frequency rank
- #22,599
- “ceros” frequency rank
- 22950
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cerca | ceros |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A pequeña distancia. | Forma del plural de cero. |
Where the eye mixes cerca and ceros
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cerca (CVCCV) and ceros (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cerca and ceros
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cerca is [ˈseɾka] while ceros is [ˈseɾos]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cerca is recorded at frequency rank #351, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈseɾka]. ceros is at rank #22,599, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈseɾos].
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 22950, this pair ranks #248,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cerca vs ceros
Shared letters: cer. Private to "cerca": a. Private to "ceros": os.
"cerca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "ceros" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cerca" for "ceros" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cerca" or "ceros" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cerca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ceros" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cerca" and "ceros" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceros vs curo". 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 #248,020 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.