clínicasvscrónicasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,114
“clínicas” frequency rank
#7,840
“crónicas” frequency rank
17954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clínicas crónicas
Definition Forma del femenino plural de clínico. Forma del femenino plural de crónico.

Where the eye mixes clínicas and crónicas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. clínicas and crónicas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
clínicas
8 ch
crónicas

Why the eye confuses clínicas with crónicas

A purely visual mix-up. clínicas ([ˈklinikas]) and crónicas ([ˈkɾonikas]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clínicas is recorded at frequency rank #10,114, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈklinikas]. crónicas is at rank #7,840, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɾonikas].

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 17954, this pair ranks #269,936 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of clínicas vs crónicas

Shared letters: acins. Private to "clínicas": lí. Private to "crónicas": ró.

"clínicas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "crónicas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "clínicas" and "crónicas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklinikas] versus [ˈkɾonikas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "clínicas" or "crónicas" show up more?
"crónicas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,840 in our Spanish list, against #10,114 for "clínicas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "clínicas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "crónicas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #269,936 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clínicas" and "crónicas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clinical vs clínicas". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #269,936 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