clínicovscríticoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,926
“clínico” frequency rank
#2,820
“crítico” frequency rank
14746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clínico crítico
Definition Que recibe el bautismo en la cama en la última enfermedad. Que pertenece o concierne a la crítica (juicio o comentario sobre algo).

Where the eye mixes clínico and crítico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. clínico and crítico follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
clínico
7 ch
crítico

Look-alike desk: clínico vs crítico

A purely visual mix-up. clínico ([ˈkliniko]) and crítico ([ˈkɾit̪iko]) 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 14746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clínico is recorded at frequency rank #11,926, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkliniko]. crítico is at rank #2,820, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɾit̪iko].

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 14746, this pair ranks #282,907 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of clínico vs crítico

Shared letters: cioí. Private to "clínico": ln. Private to "crítico": rt.

"clínico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "crítico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "clínico" for "crítico" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkliniko] versus [ˈkɾit̪iko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clínico" or "crítico"?
"crítico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,820 in our Spanish list, against #11,926 for "clínico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "clínico" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "crítico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #282,907 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clínico" and "crítico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clinical vs clínico". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #282,907 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