Which to use
“recelo” is a noun and “recen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,752
- “recelo” frequency rank
- #38,336
- “recen” frequency rank
- 66088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recelo | recen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Temor, sospecha o cuidado. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de rezar. |
Where the eye mixes recelo and recen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. recelo runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against recen's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: recelo vs recen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recelo is [reˈselo] while recen is [ˈresẽn]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recelo is recorded at frequency rank #27,752, classified as anoun, pronounced [reˈselo]. recen is at rank #38,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈresẽn].
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 66088, this pair ranks #40,805 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of recelo vs recen
Shared letters: cer. Private to "recelo": lo. Private to "recen": n.
"recelo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "recen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "recelo" for "recen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "recelo" or "recen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "recelo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "recen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,805 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recelo" and "recen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recen vs reset". 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 #40,805 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.