recelovsrecioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: recelo is a noun, recio is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#27,752
“recelo” frequency rank
#32,373
“recio” frequency rank
60125
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recelo recio
Definition Temor, sospecha o cuidado. Fuerte, resistente.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
recelo
5 ch
recio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recelo is [reˈselo] while recio is [ˈresjo]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60125, 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]. recio is at rank #32,373, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈresjo].

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 60125, this pair ranks #60,067 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of recelo vs recio

Shared letters: ceor. Private to "recelo": l. Private to "recio": i.

"recelo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "recio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • receloercelo · rceelo · reccelo · recello · receol · recleo · reeclo · reselo
  • recioercio · rceio · reccio · recoi · reico · resio · rrecio

Frequency comparison

recelo#27,752
recio#32,373

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recelo" and "recio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recelo" is a noun and "recio" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "recelo" or "recio"?
"recelo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,752 in our Spanish list, against #32,373 for "recio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recelo vs recio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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