Which to use
“corto” is an adjective and “cuarto” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,567
- “corto” frequency rank
- #1,030
- “cuarto” frequency rank
- 2597
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | corto | cuarto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pequeño, especialmente en cuanto a la longitud, duración o extensión, pero también en cuanto a otra dimensión en comparación con otros de su clase o género. | Que va inmediatamente después del tercero en una serie. Ordinal del cuatro. |
Where the eye mixes corto and cuarto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses corto with cuarto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: corto is [ˈkoɾt̪o] while cuarto is [ˈkwaɾt̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
corto is recorded at frequency rank #1,567, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkoɾt̪o]. cuarto is at rank #1,030, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈkwaɾt̪o].
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 2597, this pair ranks #319,998 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of corto vs cuarto
Shared letters: cort. Private to "corto": -. Private to "cuarto": au.
"corto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cuarto" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "corto" and "cuarto" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "corto" or "cuarto" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "corto" and "cuarto" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "corto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuarto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,998 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "corto" and "cuarto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "corto 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 #319,998 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.