recenvsreducenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#38,336
“recen” frequency rank
#12,694
“reducen” frequency rank
51030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recen reducen
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 reducir o de reducirse.

Where the eye mixes recen and reducen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. recen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against reducen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
recen
7 ch
reducen

Look-alike desk: recen vs reducen

A purely visual mix-up. recen ([ˈresẽn]) and reducen ([reˈð̞usẽn]) 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 51030, 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]. reducen is at rank #12,694, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈð̞usẽn].

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 51030, this pair ranks #100,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recen vs reducen

Shared letters: cenr. Private to "recen": -. Private to "reducen": du.

"recen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "reducen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recen ← ercen · reccen · recenn · recne · reecn · resen · rrecen
  • reducen ← erducen · rdeucen · redcuen · redducen · reduccen · reducenn · reducne · reduecn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recen" and "reducen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈresẽn] versus [reˈð̞usẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "recen" vs "reducen" - which ranks higher?
"reducen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,694 in our Spanish list, against #38,336 for "recen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "recen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reducen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #100,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recen" and "reducen" 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 #100,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list