recortavsrectaTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#34,302
“recorta” frequency rank
#7,910
“recta” frequency rank
42212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recorta recta
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recortar o de recortarse. Entidad geométrica de una sola dimensión compuesta de un conjunto infinito de puntos, y que representa el camino más corto entre un punto y otro.

Where the eye mixes recorta and recta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
recorta
5 ch
recta

Look-alike desk: recorta vs recta

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recorta is [reˈkoɾt̪a] while recta is [ˈrekt̪a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recorta is recorded at frequency rank #34,302, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈkoɾt̪a]. recta is at rank #7,910, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈrekt̪a].

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 42212, this pair ranks #149,506 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of recorta vs recta

Shared letters: acert. Private to "recorta": o. Private to "recta": -.

"recorta" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "recta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recortaercorta · rceorta · reccorta · recorat · recorrta · recortta · recrota · reocrta
  • rectaercta · rceta · recat · reccta · rectta · retca · rrecta

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "recorta" and "recta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recorta" is a verb and "recta" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "recorta" or "recta" show up more?
"recta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,910 in our Spanish list, against #34,302 for "recorta". 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 "recorta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "recta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #149,506 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "recorta" and "recta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recorta vs recortan". 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 #149,506 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