cercanovscercanosConfusable pair

Which to use

“cercano” and “cercanos” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,441
“cercano” frequency rank
#4,862
“cercanos” frequency rank
7303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cercano cercanos
Definition Que se encuentra a poca distancia Forma del masculino plural de cercano.

Where the eye mixes cercano and cercanos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. cercano runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against cercanos's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
cercano
8 ch
cercanos

Look-alike desk: cercano vs cercanos

A purely visual mix-up. cercano ([seɾˈkano]) and cercanos ([seɾˈkanos]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “cercano” sits inside “cercanos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cercano is recorded at frequency rank #2,441, classified as anadj, pronounced [seɾˈkano]. cercanos is at rank #4,862, tagged as anadj, pronounced [seɾˈkanos].

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 7303, this pair ranks #308,372 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cercano vs cercanos

Shared letters: acenor. Private to "cercano": -. Private to "cercanos": s.

"cercano" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "cercanos" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cercano ← ccercano · cecrano · ceracno · cercanno · cercaon · cerccano · cercnao · cerrcano
  • cercanos ← ccercanos · cecranos · ceracnos · cercannos · cercanoss · cercanso · cercaons · cerccanos

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cercano" and "cercanos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([seɾˈkano] versus [seɾˈkanos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cercano" or "cercanos"?
"cercano" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,441 in our Spanish list, against #4,862 for "cercanos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cercano" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cercanos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,372 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cercano" and "cercanos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cercano vs chicano". 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 #308,372 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list