cuerdovscuidoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#25,585
“cuerdo” frequency rank
#20,325
“cuido” frequency rank
45910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuerdo cuido
Definition Que está mentalmente sano. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de cuidar o de cuidarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
cuerdo
5 ch
cuido

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cuerdo is [ˈkweɾð̞o] while cuido is [ˈkwið̞o]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45910, 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]. cuido is at rank #20,325, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkwið̞o].

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 45910, this pair ranks #128,771 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cuerdo vs cuido

Shared letters: cdou. Private to "cuerdo": er. Private to "cuido": i.

"cuerdo" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "cuido" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuerdoccuerdo · ceurdo · cuedro · cuerddo · cuerod · cuerrdo · curedo · ucerdo
  • cuidoccuido · ciudo · cudio · cuiddo · cuiod · ucido

Frequency comparison

cuerdo#25,585
cuido#20,325

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cuerdo" and "cuido" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cuerdo" is an adjective and "cuido" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cuerdo" or "cuido"?
"cuido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,325 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 cuido

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cuerdo”; for a verb, it's “cuido”.
  • 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