Which to use
“ciento” is an adjective and “cinco” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,236
- “ciento” frequency rank
- #396
- “cinco” frequency rank
- 1632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ciento | cinco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que vale diez veces diez. | Cuatro y uno. |
Where the eye mixes ciento and cinco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ciento vs cinco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ciento is [ˈsjẽn̪t̪o] while cinco is [ˈsĩŋko]. 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 num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ciento is recorded at frequency rank #1,236, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsjẽn̪t̪o]. cinco is at rank #396, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈsĩŋko].
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 1632, this pair ranks #321,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ciento vs cinco
Shared letters: cino. Private to "ciento": et. Private to "cinco": -.
"ciento" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "cinco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ciento" for "cinco" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ciento" vs "cinco" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ciento" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cinco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #321,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ciento" and "cinco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calentó vs ciento". 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 #321,712 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.