creívscureWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,047
“creí” frequency rank
#21,290
“cure” frequency rank
27337
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature creí cure
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de creer o de creerse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de curar.

Where the eye mixes creí and cure

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

4 ch
creí
4 ch
cure

Why the eye confuses creí with cure

A purely visual mix-up. creí ([kɾeˈi]) and cure ([ˈkuɾe]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

creí is recorded at frequency rank #6,047, classified as averb, pronounced [kɾeˈi]. cure is at rank #21,290, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkuɾe].

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 27337, this pair ranks #227,310 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of creí vs cure

Shared letters: cer. Private to "creí": í. Private to "cure": u.

"creí" · 4 letters · shape CCVV  ·  "cure" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cureccure · crue · cuer · curre · ucre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "creí" and "cure" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kɾeˈi] versus [ˈkuɾe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "creí" or "cure"?
"creí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,047 in our Spanish list, against #21,290 for "cure". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "creí" and "cure" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "creí" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,310 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "creí" and "cure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuc vs cure". 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 #227,310 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