recibidovsrecibiendoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,654
“recibido” frequency rank
#5,150
“recibiendo” frequency rank
6804
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recibido recibiendo
Definition Participio de recibir. Gerundio de recibir.

Where the eye mixes recibido and recibiendo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. recibido runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against recibiendo's 10 (CVCVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
recibido
10 ch
recibiendo

Visual trap between recibido and recibiendo

A purely visual mix-up. recibido ([resiˈβ̞ið̞o]) and recibiendo ([resiˈβ̞jẽn̪d̪o]) 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 6804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recibido is recorded at frequency rank #1,654, classified as averb, pronounced [resiˈβ̞ið̞o]. recibiendo is at rank #5,150, tagged as averb, pronounced [resiˈβ̞jẽn̪d̪o].

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 6804, this pair ranks #309,756 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of recibido vs recibiendo

Shared letters: bcdeior. Private to "recibido": -. Private to "recibiendo": n.

"recibido" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "recibiendo" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recibidoercibido · rceibido · recbiido · reccibido · recibbido · recibdio · recibiddo · recibiod
  • recibiendoercibiendo · rceibiendo · recbiiendo · reccibiendo · recibbiendo · recibeindo · recibiedno · recibienddo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "recibido" and "recibiendo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([resiˈβ̞ið̞o] versus [resiˈβ̞jẽn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "recibido" vs "recibiendo" - which ranks higher?
"recibido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,654 in our Spanish list, against #5,150 for "recibiendo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "recibido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recibiendo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #309,756 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recibido" and "recibiendo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recibiendo vs reviviendo". 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 #309,756 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