reciénvsrecioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: recién is a adverb, recio is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“recién” is an adverb and “recio” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,423
“recién” frequency rank
#32,373
“recio” frequency rank
33796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recién recio
Definition Recientemente Fuerte, resistente.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
recién
5 ch
recio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recién is [reˈsjẽn] while recio is [ˈresjo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recién is recorded at frequency rank #1,423, classified as anadv, pronounced [reˈsjẽn]. recio is at rank #32,373, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈresjo].

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 33796, this pair ranks #194,849 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recién vs recio

Shared letters: ceir. Private to "recién": . Private to "recio": o.

"recién" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "recio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recioercio · rceio · reccio · recoi · reico · resio · rrecio

Frequency comparison

recién#1,423
recio#32,373

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recién" and "recio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recién" is an adverb and "recio" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "recién" or "recio"?
"recién" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,423 in our Spanish list, against #32,373 for "recio". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering recién vs recio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “recién”; for an adjective, it's “recio”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “recién” 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