Which to use
“crían” is a verb and “cuán” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,409
- “crían” frequency rank
- #6,647
- “cuán” frequency rank
- 37056
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crían | cuán |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de criar o de criarse. | Se usa en oraciones exclamativas para acentuar el grado o la intensidad. |
Where the eye mixes crían and cuán
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. crían runs 5 letters (CCVVC) against cuán's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses crían with cuán
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: crían is [ˈkɾiãn] while cuán is [ˈkwãn]. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crían is recorded at frequency rank #30,409, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɾiãn]. cuán is at rank #6,647, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈkwãn].
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 37056, this pair ranks #177,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of crían vs cuán
Shared letters: cn. Private to "crían": arí. Private to "cuán": uá.
"crían" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "cuán" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "crían" for "cuán" ever safe?
Frequency check: "crían" vs "cuán" - which ranks higher?
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 "crían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuán" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #177,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crían" and "cuán" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs crían". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #177,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.