crivscupWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: cri is a intj, cup is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cri” is an intj and “cup” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,294
“cri” frequency rank
#9,436
“cup” frequency rank
40730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cri cup
Definition Para imitar el grillar (sonido del grillo). Taza.

Where the eye mixes cri and cup

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
cri
3 ch
cup

Visual trap between cri and cup

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cri is [ˈkɾi] while cup is /kʌp/. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cri is recorded at frequency rank #31,294, classified as anintj, pronounced [ˈkɾi]. cup is at rank #9,436, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kʌp/.

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 40730, this pair ranks #157,509 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cri vs cup

Shared letters: c. Private to "cri": ir. Private to "cup": pu.

"cri" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "cup" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cri" for "cup" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cri" is an intj and "cup" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cri" or "cup" show up more?
"cup" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,436 in our Spanish list, against #31,294 for "cri". 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 "cri" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #157,509 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cri" and "cup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cri vs cuc". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #157,509 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