cerrabavscerradoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cerraba is a verb, cerrado is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cerraba” is a verb and “cerrado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,600
“cerraba” frequency rank
#2,762
“cerrado” frequency rank
25362
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cerraba cerrado
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de cerrar o de cerrarse. cerrado ¦ plural: cerrados ¦ femenino: cerrada ¦ femenino plural: cerradas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cerraba and cerrado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
cerraba
7 ch
cerrado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cerraba is [seˈraβ̞a] while cerrado is [seˈrað̞o]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cerraba is recorded at frequency rank #22,600, classified as averb, pronounced [seˈraβ̞a]. cerrado is at rank #2,762, tagged as anadj, pronounced [seˈrað̞o].

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 25362, this pair ranks #236,776 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cerraba vs cerrado

Shared letters: acer. Private to "cerraba": b. Private to "cerrado": do.

"cerraba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "cerrado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cerrabaccerraba · ceraba · cerarba · cerraab · cerrabba · cerrava · cerrbaa · creraba
  • cerradoccerrado · cerardo · cerraddo · cerraod · cerrdao · crerado · ecrrado · serrado

Frequency comparison

cerraba#22,600
cerrado#2,762

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cerraba" and "cerrado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cerraba" is a verb and "cerrado" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cerraba" or "cerrado"?
"cerrado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,762 in our Spanish list, against #22,600 for "cerraba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cerraba vs cerrado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cerraba”; for an adjective, it's “cerrado”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cerraba” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list