cursanvscursarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,926
“cursan” frequency rank
#13,880
“cursar” frequency rank
56806
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cursan cursar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de cursar. Seguir un curso o una materia.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
cursan
6 ch
cursar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cursan ([ˈkuɾsãn]) and cursar ([kuɾˈsaɾ]) 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 “cursan” becomes r in “cursar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cursan is recorded at frequency rank #42,926, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkuɾsãn]. cursar is at rank #13,880, tagged as averb, pronounced [kuɾˈsaɾ].

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 56806, this pair ranks #73,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cursan vs cursar

Shared letters: acrsu. Private to "cursan": n. Private to "cursar": -.

"cursan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cursar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cursanccursan · crusan · curasn · currsan · cursann · cursna · curssan · cusran
  • cursarccursar · crusar · curasr · currsar · cursarr · cursra · curssar · cusrar

Frequency comparison

cursan#42,926
cursar#13,880

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cursan" and "cursar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkuɾsãn] versus [kuɾˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cursan" or "cursar"?
"cursar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,880 in our Spanish list, against #42,926 for "cursan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cursan vs cursar

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 “cursan” 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