Which to use
“cercas” is a noun and “cierras” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,280
- “cercas” frequency rank
- #30,807
- “cierras” frequency rank
- 59087
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cercas | cierras |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de cerca. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de cerrar o de cerrarse. |
Where the eye mixes cercas and cierras
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cercas runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against cierras's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cercas and cierras
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cercas is [ˈseɾkas] while cierras is [ˈsjeras]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cercas is recorded at frequency rank #28,280, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈseɾkas]. cierras is at rank #30,807, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsjeras].
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 59087, this pair ranks #63,949 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cercas vs cierras
Shared letters: acers. Private to "cercas": -. Private to "cierras": i.
"cercas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cierras" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cercas" for "cierras" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cercas" or "cierras" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cercas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cierras" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,949 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cercas" and "cierras" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cierras vs cierva". 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 #63,949 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.