descalzavsdescargaWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: descalza is a verb, descarga is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“descalza” is a verb and “descarga” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,050
“descalza” frequency rank
#4,001
“descarga” frequency rank
42051
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature descalza descarga
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de descalzar. Acción o efecto de descargar.

Where the eye mixes descalza and descarga

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. descalza and descarga follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
descalza
8 ch
descarga

Visual trap between descalza and descarga

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: descalza is [d̪esˈkalsa] while descarga is [d̪esˈkaɾɣ̞a]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42051, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descalza is recorded at frequency rank #38,050, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkalsa]. descarga is at rank #4,001, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d̪esˈkaɾɣ̞a].

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 42051, this pair ranks #150,354 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of descalza vs descarga

Shared letters: acdes. Private to "descalza": lz. Private to "descarga": gr.

"descalza" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "descarga" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • descalza ← ddescalza · decsalza · desaclza · descalaz · descallza · descalzza · descazla · desccalza
  • descarga ← ddescarga · decsarga · desacrga · descagra · descarag · descargga · descarrga · desccarga

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "descalza" for "descarga" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "descalza" is a verb and "descarga" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "descalza" or "descarga"?
"descarga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,001 in our Spanish list, against #38,050 for "descalza". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "descalza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "descarga" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #150,354 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "descalza" and "descarga" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descalza vs descalzos". 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 #150,354 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