recibívsrecitaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: recibí is a noun, recita is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“recibí” is a noun and “recita” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,777
“recibí” frequency rank
#41,582
“recita” frequency rank
49359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recibí recita
Definition Fórmula que se coloca en ciertos documentos antes de firmarlos para expresar la conformidad de lo que se ha recibido.. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recitar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
recibí
6 ch
recita

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recibí is [resiˈβ̞i] while recita is [reˈsit̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recibí is recorded at frequency rank #7,777, classified as anoun, pronounced [resiˈβ̞i]. recita is at rank #41,582, tagged as averb, pronounced [reˈsit̪a].

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 49359, this pair ranks #109,296 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recibí vs recita

Shared letters: ceir. Private to "recibí": . Private to "recita": at.

"recibí" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "recita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recitaercita · rceita · reccita · reciat · recitta · rectia · reicta · resita

Frequency comparison

recibí#7,777
recita#41,582

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recibí" and "recita" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recibí" is a noun and "recita" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "recibí" or "recita"?
"recibí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,777 in our Spanish list, against #41,582 for "recita". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recibí vs recita

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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