Which to use
“catar” is a verb and “catarro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,482
- “catar” frequency rank
- #49,499
- “catarro” frequency rank
- 82981
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | catar | catarro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Probar algo con el sentido del gusto, especialmente los alimentos. | Enfermedad de las vías respiratorias usualmente acompañada de los siguientes síntomas: congestión de las vías respiratorias, irritación e inflamación de la membrana mucosa que cubre la nariz y la garganta, expectoración, tos, estornudos, fiebre. |
Where the eye mixes catar and catarro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. catar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against catarro's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: catar vs catarro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: catar is [kaˈt̪aɾ] while catarro is [kaˈt̪aro]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “catar” sits inside “catarro”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
catar is recorded at frequency rank #33,482, classified as averb, pronounced [kaˈt̪aɾ]. catarro is at rank #49,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈt̪aro].
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 82981, this pair ranks #8,631 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of catar vs catarro
Shared letters: acrt. Private to "catar": -. Private to "catarro": o.
"catar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "catarro" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "catar" for "catarro" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "catar" or "catarro" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "catar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "catarro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #8,631 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "catar" and "catarro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cántabro vs catarro". 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 #8,631 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.