Which to use
“tercer” and “terco” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,428
- “tercer” frequency rank
- #29,415
- “terco” frequency rank
- 30843
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tercer | terco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de tercero (que ocupa el lugar tres en una serie, inmediatamente después del segundo elemento). | Que no cambia su opinión o proceder, pese a las razones en sentido contrario. |
Where the eye mixes tercer and terco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tercer runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against terco's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tercer and terco
A purely visual mix-up. tercer ([t̪eɾˈseɾ]) and terco ([ˈt̪eɾko]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tercer is recorded at frequency rank #1,428, classified as anadj, pronounced [t̪eɾˈseɾ]. terco is at rank #29,415, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪eɾko].
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 30843, this pair ranks #210,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tercer vs terco
Shared letters: cert. Private to "tercer": -. Private to "terco": o.
"tercer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "terco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tercer" and "terco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tercer" or "terco"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tercer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "terco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #210,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tercer" and "terco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "terco vs termos". 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 #210,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.