cerrarvscerréTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,070
“cerrar” frequency rank
#21,251
“cerré” frequency rank
23321
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cerrar cerré
Definition Colocar o modificar algo para evitar su apertura. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cerrar o de cerrarse.

Where the eye mixes cerrar and cerré

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
cerrar
5 ch
cerré

Look-alike desk: cerrar vs cerré

A purely visual mix-up. cerrar ([seˈraɾ]) and cerré ([seˈre]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cerrar is recorded at frequency rank #2,070, classified as averb, pronounced [seˈraɾ]. cerré is at rank #21,251, tagged as averb, pronounced [seˈre].

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 23321, this pair ranks #246,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cerrar vs cerré

Shared letters: cer. Private to "cerrar": a. Private to "cerré": é.

"cerrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cerré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cerrarccerrar · cerarr · cerrarr · cerrra · crerar · ecrrar · serrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cerrar" for "cerré" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([seˈraɾ] versus [seˈre]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cerrar" vs "cerré" - which ranks higher?
"cerrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,070 in our Spanish list, against #21,251 for "cerré". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "cerrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cerré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #246,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cerrar" and "cerré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "catre vs cerré". 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 #246,328 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