Which to use
“terco” is an adjective and “terra” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,415
- “terco” frequency rank
- #14,022
- “terra” frequency rank
- 43437
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | terco | terra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que no cambia su opinión o proceder, pese a las razones en sentido contrario. | Tierra. |
Where the eye mixes terco and terra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. terco and terra follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between terco and terra
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: terco is [ˈt̪eɾko] while terra is /ˈtɛ.rə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43437, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
terco is recorded at frequency rank #29,415, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt̪eɾko]. terra is at rank #14,022, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɛ.rə/.
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 43437, this pair ranks #142,661 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of terco vs terra
Shared letters: ert. Private to "terco": co. Private to "terra": a.
"terco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "terra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "terco" for "terra" ever safe?
Frequency check: "terco" vs "terra" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "terco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "terra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,661 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "terco" and "terra" 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 #142,661 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.