Which to use
“cinco” is a num and “cínico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #396
- “cinco” frequency rank
- #16,549
- “cínico” frequency rank
- 16945
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cinco | cínico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cuatro y uno. | Que pertenece o concierne a la escuela de la filosofía griega del mismo nombre, que abogaba por una vida sencilla y el abandono de las sofisticaciones de la sociedad. |
Where the eye mixes cinco and cínico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cinco and cínico
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cinco is [ˈsĩŋko] while cínico is [ˈsiniko]. 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 (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cinco is recorded at frequency rank #396, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈsĩŋko]. cínico is at rank #16,549, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈsiniko].
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 16945, this pair ranks #274,143 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cinco vs cínico
Shared letters: cino. Private to "cinco": -. Private to "cínico": í.
"cinco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cínico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cinco ← ccinco · cicno · cincco · cinnco · cinoc · cnico · icnco · sinco
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cinco" and "cínico" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cinco" vs "cínico" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cinco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cínico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #274,143 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cinco" and "cínico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cínico vs cirio". 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 #274,143 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.