Which to use
“cite” is a verb and “cue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,003
- “cite” frequency rank
- #35,969
- “cue” frequency rank
- 69972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cite | cue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de citar. | Señal que se emplea para marcar el inicio de una acción. |
Where the eye mixes cite and cue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cite with cue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cite is [ˈsit̪e] while cue is /kjuː/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cite is recorded at frequency rank #34,003, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsit̪e]. cue is at rank #35,969, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kjuː/.
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 69972, this pair ranks #30,767 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cite vs cue
Shared letters: ce. Private to "cite": it. Private to "cue": u.
"cite" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cue" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cite ← ccite · ciet · citte · ctie · icte
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cite" and "cue" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cite" or "cue" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cite" and "cue" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,767 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cite" and "cue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuc vs cue". 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 #30,767 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.