criticarvscríticoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: criticar is a verb, crítico is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“criticar” is a verb and “crítico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,492
“criticar” frequency rank
#2,820
“crítico” frequency rank
7312
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criticar crítico
Definition Juzgar o valorar una cosa atendiendo a un conjunto de reglas establecidas. Que pertenece o concierne a la crítica (juicio o comentario sobre algo).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set criticar and crítico apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
criticar
7 ch
crítico

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: criticar is [kɾit̪iˈkaɾ] while crítico is [ˈkɾit̪iko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criticar is recorded at frequency rank #4,492, classified as averb, pronounced [kɾit̪iˈkaɾ]. crítico is at rank #2,820, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɾit̪iko].

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 7312, this pair ranks #308,342 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of criticar vs crítico

Shared letters: cirt. Private to "criticar": a. Private to "crítico": .

"criticar" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "crítico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • criticarccriticar · cirticar · criitcar · critciar · critiacr · criticarr · criticcar · criticra

Frequency comparison

criticar#4,492
crítico#2,820

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criticar" and "crítico" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "criticar" is a verb and "crítico" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "criticar" or "crítico"?
"crítico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,820 in our Spanish list, against #4,492 for "criticar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criticar vs crítico

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “criticar”; for an adjective, it's “crítico”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “criticar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list