Which to use
“cerrada” is a participle and “cerradura” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,226
- “cerrada” frequency rank
- #17,899
- “cerradura” frequency rank
- 22125
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cerrada | cerradura |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino de cerrado, participio de cerrar. | Mecanismo usualmente de metal que se incorpora a puertas, cajones de armarios, cofres, arcones, etc., para impedir que se puedan abrir sin la llave y así proteger su contenido. Este mecanismo se puede accionar mediante una llave normalmente de acero. En la actualidad, aparte de las cerraduras mecánicas, existen otras como las electro-mecánicas o las electrónicas, en las que la llave puede ser una tarjeta de plástico o PVC. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cerrada and cerradura apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cerrada and cerradura form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22125, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cerrada is recorded at frequency rank #4,226, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [seˈrað̞a]. cerradura is at rank #17,899, tagged as anoun, pronounced [seraˈð̞uɾa].
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 22125, this pair ranks #251,796 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cerrada" and "cerradura" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cerrada vs cerradura
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “cerrada”; for a noun, it's “cerradura”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cerrada” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable