cerrévscorreoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cerré is a verb, correo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cerré” is a verb and “correo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,251
“cerré” frequency rank
#1,473
“correo” frequency rank
22724
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cerré correo
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cerrar o de cerrarse. Persona que transporta cartas, mensajes y otros envíos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cerré and correo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cerré
6 ch
correo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cerré is [seˈre] while correo is [koˈreo]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cerré is recorded at frequency rank #21,251, classified as averb, pronounced [seˈre]. correo is at rank #1,473, tagged as anoun, pronounced [koˈreo].

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 22724, this pair ranks #249,017 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cerré vs correo

Shared letters: cer. Private to "cerré": é. Private to "correo": o.

"cerré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "correo" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • correoccorreo · coreo · corero · corroe · croreo · ocrreo

Frequency comparison

cerré#21,251
correo#1,473

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cerré" and "correo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cerré" is a verb and "correo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cerré" or "correo"?
"correo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,473 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.

Remembering cerré vs correo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cerré”; for a noun, it's “correo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cerré” 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