Which to use
“clínica” is a noun and “clínico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,142
- “clínica” frequency rank
- #11,926
- “clínico” frequency rank
- 16068
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clínica | clínico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Parte de la medicina que enseña a observar y curar las enfermedades a la cabecera de los enfermos. | Que recibe el bautismo en la cama en la última enfermedad. |
Where the eye mixes clínica and clínico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. clínica and clínico follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: clínica vs clínico
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clínica is [ˈklinika] while clínico is [ˈkliniko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “clínica” becomes o in “clínico”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clínica is recorded at frequency rank #4,142, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklinika]. 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 16068, this pair ranks #277,628 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clínica vs clínico
Shared letters: cilní. Private to "clínica": a. Private to "clínico": o.
"clínica" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "clínico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clínica" and "clínico" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "clínica" or "clínico" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clínica" and "clínico" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clínica" 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 #277,628 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clínica" and "clínico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clinical vs clínico". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #277,628 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.