cínicosvsclínicoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cínicos” and “clínico” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,937
“cínicos” frequency rank
#11,926
“clínico” frequency rank
39863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cínicos clínico
Definition Forma del masculino plural de cínico. Que recibe el bautismo en la cama en la última enfermedad.

Where the eye mixes cínicos and clínico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cínicos (CVCVCVC) and clínico (CCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
cínicos
7 ch
clínico

Visual trap between cínicos and clínico

A purely visual mix-up. cínicos ([ˈsinikos]) and clínico ([ˈkliniko]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 6 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cínicos is recorded at frequency rank #27,937, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsinikos]. clínico is at rank #11,926, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkliniko].

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 39863, this pair ranks #162,262 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cínicos vs clínico

Shared letters: cinoí. Private to "cínicos": s. Private to "clínico": l.

"cínicos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "clínico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cínicos" for "clínico" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsinikos] versus [ˈkliniko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cínicos" vs "clínico" - which ranks higher?
"clínico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,926 in our Spanish list, against #27,937 for "cínicos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "cínicos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "clínico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #162,262 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cínicos" and "clínico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cínicos vs cólicos". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #162,262 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list