cortarsevscurarseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#27,547
“cortarse” frequency rank
#27,557
“curarse” frequency rank
55104
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cortarse curarse
Definition Hacerse un corte¹₄ en el propio cuerpo. Seguir un tratamiento de algo.

Where the eye mixes cortarse and curarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
cortarse
7 ch
curarse

Look-alike desk: cortarse vs curarse

A purely visual mix-up. cortarse ([koɾˈt̪aɾse]) and curarse ([kuˈɾaɾse]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55104, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cortarse is recorded at frequency rank #27,547, classified as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aɾse]. curarse is at rank #27,557, tagged as averb, pronounced [kuˈɾaɾse].

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 55104, this pair ranks #80,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cortarse vs curarse

Shared letters: acers. Private to "cortarse": ot. Private to "curarse": u.

"cortarse" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "curarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cortarseccortarse · coratrse · corrtarse · cortarce · cortares · cortarrse · cortarsse · cortasre
  • curarseccurarse · cruarse · cuarrse · curarce · curares · curarrse · curarsse · curasre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cortarse" and "curarse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([koɾˈt̪aɾse] versus [kuˈɾaɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cortarse" or "curarse"?
"cortarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,547 in our Spanish list, against #27,557 for "curarse". 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 "cortarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "curarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #80,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cortarse" and "curarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortarla vs cortarse". 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 #80,381 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