Which to use
“close” and “curse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,560
- “close” frequency rank
- #44,090
- “curse” frequency rank
- 76650
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | close | curse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cerrar. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de cursar. |
Where the eye mixes close and curse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses close with curse
A purely visual mix-up. close (/kləʊz/) and curse ([ˈkuɾse]) 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 76650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
close is recorded at frequency rank #32,560, classified as averb, pronounced /kləʊz/. curse is at rank #44,090, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkuɾse].
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 76650, this pair ranks #17,348 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of close vs curse
Shared letters: ces. Private to "close": lo. Private to "curse": ru.
"close" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "curse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "close" for "curse" ever safe?
Which is more common, "close" or "curse"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "close" and "curse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "close" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "curse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,348 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "close" and "curse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "curse vs curt". 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 #17,348 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.