Which to use
“recen” and “reciben” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,336
- “recen” frequency rank
- #3,513
- “reciben” frequency rank
- 41849
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recen | reciben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de rezar. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recibir o de recibirse. |
Where the eye mixes recen and reciben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. recen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against reciben's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: recen vs reciben
A purely visual mix-up. recen ([ˈresẽn]) and reciben ([reˈsiβ̞ẽn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recen is recorded at frequency rank #38,336, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈresẽn]. reciben is at rank #3,513, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈsiβ̞ẽn].
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 41849, this pair ranks #151,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recen vs reciben
Shared letters: cenr. Private to "recen": -. Private to "reciben": bi.
"recen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "reciben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "recen" and "reciben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "recen" or "reciben" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "recen" and "reciben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "recen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reciben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recen" and "reciben" 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 #151,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.