cimasvscitanWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#29,102
“cimas” frequency rank
#15,308
“citan” frequency rank
44410
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cimas citan
Definition Forma del plural de cima. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de citar o de citarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
cimas
5 ch
citan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cimas is [ˈsimas] while citan is [ˈsit̪ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cimas is recorded at frequency rank #29,102, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsimas]. citan is at rank #15,308, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsit̪ãn].

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 44410, this pair ranks #137,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cimas vs citan

Shared letters: aci. Private to "cimas": ms. Private to "citan": nt.

"cimas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "citan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cimasccimas · ciams · cimass · cimmas · cimsa · cmias · icmas · simas
  • citanccitan · ciatn · citann · cittan · ctian · ictan · sitan

Frequency comparison

cimas#29,102
citan#15,308

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cimas" and "citan" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cimas" is a noun and "citan" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cimas" or "citan"?
"citan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,308 in our Spanish list, against #29,102 for "cimas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cimas vs citan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “cimas”; for a verb, it's “citan”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cimas” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list