cuerdovscuervoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cuerdo is a adjective, cuervo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cuerdo” is an adjective and “cuervo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,585
“cuerdo” frequency rank
#11,552
“cuervo” frequency rank
37137
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuerdo cuervo
Definition Que está mentalmente sano. (familia Corvidae) Cualquiera de más de un centenar de especies de aves paseriformes, de distribución cosmopolita, de tamaño medio a grande, robusto pico y patas, hábito sedentario y alimentación omnívora, especialmente carroñera.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cuerdo and cuervo apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cuerdo
6 ch
cuervo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cuerdo is [ˈkweɾð̞o] while cuervo is [ˈkweɾβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “cuerdo” becomes v in “cuervo”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuerdo is recorded at frequency rank #25,585, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkweɾð̞o]. cuervo is at rank #11,552, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkweɾβ̞o].

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 37137, this pair ranks #176,891 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cuerdo vs cuervo

Shared letters: ceoru. Private to "cuerdo": d. Private to "cuervo": v.

"cuerdo" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "cuervo" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuerdoccuerdo · ceurdo · cuedro · cuerddo · cuerod · cuerrdo · curedo · ucerdo
  • cuervoccuervo · ceurvo · cuerbo · cuerov · cuerrvo · cuervvo · cuevro · curevo

Frequency comparison

cuerdo#25,585
cuervo#11,552

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cuerdo" and "cuervo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cuerdo" is an adjective and "cuervo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cuerdo" or "cuervo"?
"cuervo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,552 in our Spanish list, against #25,585 for "cuerdo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cuerdo vs cuervo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cuerdo”; for a noun, it's “cuervo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cuerdo” 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