crecívscreesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,561
“crecí” frequency rank
#1,441
“crees” frequency rank
16002
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature crecí crees
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de crecer. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de crear.

Where the eye mixes crecí and crees

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
crecí
5 ch
crees

Why the eye confuses crecí with crees

A purely visual mix-up. crecí ([kɾeˈsi]) and crees ([ˈkɾees]) 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 16002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

crecí is recorded at frequency rank #14,561, classified as averb, pronounced [kɾeˈsi]. crees is at rank #1,441, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾees].

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 16002, this pair ranks #277,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of crecí vs crees

Shared letters: cer. Private to "crecí": í. Private to "crees": s.

"crecí" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "crees" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • creesccrees · creess · cres · crese · crrees · rcees

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "crecí" for "crees" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kɾeˈsi] versus [ˈkɾees]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "crecí" or "crees"?
"crees" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,441 in our Spanish list, against #14,561 for "crecí". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "crecí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "crees" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #277,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "crecí" and "crees" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "creáis vs crecí". 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 #277,916 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