barcavsbastaConfusable pair

Which to use

“barca” and “basta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,105
“barca” frequency rank
#1,468
“basta” frequency rank
11573
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature barca basta
Definition Vehículo acuático, similar a un barco, de pequeñas dimensiones. Hilván que dan en la ropa los sastres, modistas y costureras, para que salgan bien derechas las costuras.

Where the eye mixes barca and basta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
barca
5 ch
basta

Look-alike desk: barca vs basta

A purely visual mix-up. barca ([ˈbaɾka]) and basta ([ˈbast̪a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

barca is recorded at frequency rank #10,105, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaɾka]. basta is at rank #1,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbast̪a].

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 11573, this pair ranks #294,625 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of barca vs basta

Shared letters: ab. Private to "barca": cr. Private to "basta": st.

"barca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "basta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • barcaabrca · bacra · barac · barcca · barrca · bbarca · braca · varca
  • bastaabsta · basat · bassta · bastta · batsa · bbasta · bsata

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "barca" and "basta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaɾka] versus [ˈbast̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "barca" vs "basta" - which ranks higher?
"basta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,468 in our Spanish list, against #10,105 for "barca". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "barca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "basta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #294,625 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "barca" and "basta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bacán vs barca". 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 #294,625 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