Which to use
“cuidan” and “cuidar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,335
- “cuidan” frequency rank
- #3,240
- “cuidar” frequency rank
- 18575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cuidan | cuidar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cuidar o de cuidarse. | Proteger algo o a alguien del daño o el desgaste. |
Where the eye mixes cuidan and cuidar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cuidan and cuidar
A purely visual mix-up. cuidan ([ˈkwið̞ãn]) and cuidar ([kwiˈð̞aɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “cuidan” becomes r in “cuidar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cuidan is recorded at frequency rank #15,335, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkwið̞ãn]. cuidar is at rank #3,240, tagged as averb, pronounced [kwiˈð̞aɾ].
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 18575, this pair ranks #267,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cuidan vs cuidar
Shared letters: acdiu. Private to "cuidan": n. Private to "cuidar": r.
"cuidan" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "cuidar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cuidan" and "cuidar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cuidan" or "cuidar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cuidan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cuidar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cuidan" and "cuidar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cuadran vs cuidan". 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 #267,328 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.