recibavsrecreaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,704
“reciba” frequency rank
#28,541
“recrea” frequency rank
37245
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reciba recrea
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de recibir o de recibirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recrear.

Where the eye mixes reciba and recrea

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. reciba (CVCVCV) and recrea (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
reciba
6 ch
recrea

Visual trap between reciba and recrea

A purely visual mix-up. reciba ([reˈsiβ̞a]) and recrea ([reˈkɾea]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37245, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reciba is recorded at frequency rank #8,704, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈsiβ̞a]. recrea is at rank #28,541, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈkɾea].

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 37245, this pair ranks #176,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reciba vs recrea

Shared letters: acer. Private to "reciba": bi. Private to "recrea": -.

"reciba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "recrea" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recibaerciba · rceiba · recbia · recciba · reciab · recibba · reciva · reicba
  • recreaercrea · rcerea · reccrea · recera · recrae · recrrea · rercea · rrecrea

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reciba" and "recrea" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈsiβ̞a] versus [reˈkɾea]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "reciba" vs "recrea" - which ranks higher?
"reciba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,704 in our Spanish list, against #28,541 for "recrea". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "reciba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recrea" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #176,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reciba" and "recrea" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recrea vs recreos". 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 #176,303 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