Which to use
“chan” is an adjective and “crían” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,679
- “chan” frequency rank
- #30,409
- “crían” frequency rank
- 38088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chan | crían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Llano, plano. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de criar o de criarse. |
Where the eye mixes chan and crían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. chan runs 4 letters (CCVC) against crían's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: chan vs crían
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chan is [ˈt͡ʃaŋ] while crían is [ˈkɾiãn]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chan is recorded at frequency rank #7,679, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡ʃaŋ]. crían is at rank #30,409, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾiãn].
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 38088, this pair ranks #171,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chan vs crían
Shared letters: acn. Private to "chan": h. Private to "crían": rí.
"chan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "crían" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- chan ← cahn · cchan · chann · chhan · chna · hcan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chan" for "crían" ever safe?
Which is more common, "chan" or "crían"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #171,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chan" and "crían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs crían". 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 #171,889 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.