clínicovscrónicoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,926
“clínico” frequency rank
#21,623
“crónico” frequency rank
33549
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clínico crónico
Definition Que recibe el bautismo en la cama en la última enfermedad. Que es constante, habitual.

Where the eye mixes clínico and crónico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. clínico and crónico 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
crónico

Visual trap between clínico and crónico

A purely visual mix-up. clínico ([ˈkliniko]) and crónico ([ˈkɾoniko]) 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 33549, 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]. crónico is at rank #21,623, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɾoniko].

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 33549, this pair ranks #196,214 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clínico vs crónico

Shared letters: cino. Private to "clínico": lí. Private to "crónico": ró.

"clínico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "crónico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "clínico" and "crónico" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkliniko] versus [ˈkɾoniko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clínico" or "crónico"?
"clínico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,926 in our Spanish list, against #21,623 for "crónico". 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 "clínico" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "crónico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,214 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clínico" and "crónico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cónica vs crónico". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #196,214 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