Which to use
“cerca” is an adverb and “cuerda” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #351
- “cerca” frequency rank
- #5,193
- “cuerda” frequency rank
- 5544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cerca | cuerda |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A pequeña distancia. | Cuerpo de material flexible, largo y delgado, formado por múltiples hilos trenzados o torzados para unirlos, empleado para atar. |
Where the eye mixes cerca and cuerda
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cerca vs cuerda
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cerca is [ˈseɾka] while cuerda is [ˈkweɾð̞a]. 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 (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cerca is recorded at frequency rank #351, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈseɾka]. cuerda is at rank #5,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkweɾð̞a].
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 5544, this pair ranks #313,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cerca vs cuerda
Shared letters: acer. Private to "cerca": -. Private to "cuerda": du.
"cerca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cuerda" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cerca" for "cuerda" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cerca" vs "cuerda" - which ranks higher?
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 "cuerda" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cerca" and "cuerda" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cierva vs cuerda". 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 #313,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.