Which to use
“criado” is a noun and “crían” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,433
- “criado” frequency rank
- #30,409
- “crían” frequency rank
- 39842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | criado | crían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Persona que sirve a otra, o a una familia, como medio de subsistencia. Por lo general se trata de gente humilde, sin estudios, que realiza labores domésticas. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de criar o de criarse. |
Where the eye mixes criado and crían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: criado vs crían
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: criado is [ˈkɾjað̞o] while crían is [ˈkɾiãn]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39842, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
criado is recorded at frequency rank #9,433, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɾjað̞o]. crían is at rank #30,409, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾiãn].
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 39842, this pair ranks #162,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of criado vs crían
Shared letters: acr. Private to "criado": dio. Private to "crían": ní.
"criado" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "crían" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- criado ← ccriado · cirado · craido · criaddo · criaod · cridao · crriado · rciado
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "criado" and "crían" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "criado" or "crían"?
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 "criado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #162,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "criado" and "crían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs crían". 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 #162,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.