Which to use
“tercero” and “terco” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,024
- “tercero” frequency rank
- #29,415
- “terco” frequency rank
- 32439
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tercero | terco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que en una serie de tres o más cosas, personas o animales, ocupa el lugar número tres en importancia, valor, ubicación, etc. | Que no cambia su opinión o proceder, pese a las razones en sentido contrario. |
Where the eye mixes tercero and terco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tercero runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against terco's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tercero vs terco
A purely visual mix-up. tercero ([t̪eɾˈseɾo]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tercero is recorded at frequency rank #3,024, classified as anadj, pronounced [t̪eɾˈseɾo]. 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 32439, this pair ranks #201,956 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tercero vs terco
Shared letters: ceort. Private to "tercero": -. Private to "terco": -.
"tercero" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "terco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tercero" and "terco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tercero" or "terco"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tercero" and "terco" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tercero" 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 #201,956 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tercero" 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 #201,956 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.