Which to use
“creíble” is an adjective and “creíste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,217
- “creíble” frequency rank
- #34,033
- “creíste” frequency rank
- 47250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | creíble | creíste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que se puede o debe creer; digno de ser creído, que merece serlo. | Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de creer o de creerse. |
Where the eye mixes creíble and creíste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. creíble and creíste follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between creíble and creíste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: creíble is [kɾeˈiβ̞le] while creíste is [kɾeˈist̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47250, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
creíble is recorded at frequency rank #13,217, classified as anadj, pronounced [kɾeˈiβ̞le]. creíste is at rank #34,033, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɾeˈist̪e].
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 47250, this pair ranks #121,105 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of creíble vs creíste
Shared letters: cerí. Private to "creíble": bl. Private to "creíste": st.
"creíble" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV · "creíste" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "creíble" for "creíste" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "creíble" or "creíste" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "creíble" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "creíste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,105 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "creíble" and "creíste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "creíste vs Cristi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #121,105 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.