Which to use
“ciego” is an adjective and “cierro” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,687
- “ciego” frequency rank
- #17,070
- “cierro” frequency rank
- 21757
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ciego | cierro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que no ve por defecto en los ojos o en el encéfalo. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de cerrar o de cerrarse. |
Where the eye mixes ciego and cierro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ciego runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against cierro's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ciego with cierro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ciego is [ˈsjeɣ̞o] while cierro is [ˈsjero]. 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 21757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ciego is recorded at frequency rank #4,687, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsjeɣ̞o]. cierro is at rank #17,070, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsjero].
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 21757, this pair ranks #253,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ciego vs cierro
Shared letters: ceio. Private to "ciego": g. Private to "cierro": r.
"ciego" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "cierro" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ciego" for "cierro" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ciego" vs "cierro" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ciego" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cierro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #253,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ciego" and "cierro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cierro vs cierva". 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 #253,472 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.