Which to use
“cercanas” is an adjective and “cercanías” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,633
- “cercanas” frequency rank
- #11,921
- “cercanías” frequency rank
- 18554
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cercanas | cercanías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino plural de cercano. | Tren que une dos poblaciones cercanas, parando en todas las estaciones intermedias. |
Where the eye mixes cercanas and cercanías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. cercanas runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against cercanías's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cercanas with cercanías
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cercanas is [seɾˈkanas] while cercanías is [seɾkaˈnias]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cercanas is recorded at frequency rank #6,633, classified as anadj, pronounced [seɾˈkanas]. cercanías is at rank #11,921, tagged as anoun, pronounced [seɾkaˈnias].
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 18554, this pair ranks #267,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cercanas vs cercanías
Shared letters: acenrs. Private to "cercanas": -. Private to "cercanías": í.
"cercanas" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "cercanías" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cercanas ← ccercanas · cecranas · ceracnas · cercaans · cercanass · cercannas · cercansa · cerccanas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cercanas" and "cercanías" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cercanas" vs "cercanías" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cercanas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cercanías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cercanas" and "cercanías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cercanas vs coreanas". 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 #267,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.