cubrevscubrióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,496
“cubre” frequency rank
#12,567
“cubrió” frequency rank
17063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cubre cubrió
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cubrir o de cubrirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de cubrir o de cubrirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cubre and cubrió apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cubre
6 ch
cubrió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cubre ([ˈkuβ̞ɾe]) and cubrió ([kuˈβ̞ɾjo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cubre is recorded at frequency rank #4,496, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkuβ̞ɾe]. cubrió is at rank #12,567, tagged as averb, pronounced [kuˈβ̞ɾjo].

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 17063, this pair ranks #273,687 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cubre vs cubrió

Shared letters: bcru. Private to "cubre": e. Private to "cubrió": .

"cubre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cubrió" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cubrecbure · ccubre · cubbre · cuber · cubrre · curbe · cuvre · ucbre

Frequency comparison

cubre#4,496
cubrió#12,567

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cubre" and "cubrió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkuβ̞ɾe] versus [kuˈβ̞ɾjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cubre" or "cubrió"?
"cubre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,496 in our Spanish list, against #12,567 for "cubrió". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cubre vs cubrió

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cubre” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list