Which to use
“tercios” is a noun and “terco” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,687
- “tercios” frequency rank
- #29,415
- “terco” frequency rank
- 41102
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tercios | terco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de tercio. | Que no cambia su opinión o proceder, pese a las razones en sentido contrario. |
Where the eye mixes tercios and terco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tercios runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against terco's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tercios with terco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tercios is [ˈt̪eɾsjos] while terco is [ˈt̪eɾko]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tercios is recorded at frequency rank #11,687, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪eɾsjos]. 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 41102, this pair ranks #155,503 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tercios vs terco
Shared letters: ceort. Private to "tercios": is. Private to "terco": -.
"tercios" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "terco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tercios" for "terco" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tercios" vs "terco" - which ranks higher?
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 "tercios" 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 #155,503 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tercios" 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 #155,503 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.