descartarvsdescartoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,578
“descartar” frequency rank
#39,154
“descarto” frequency rank
51732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature descartar descarto
Definition Eliminar algo de una lista, una categoría, o algún otro grupo de cosas. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de descartar o de descartarse.

Where the eye mixes descartar and descarto

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. descartar runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against descarto's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
descartar
8 ch
descarto

Look-alike desk: descartar vs descarto

A purely visual mix-up. descartar ([d̪eskaɾˈt̪aɾ]) and descarto ([d̪esˈkaɾt̪o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descartar is recorded at frequency rank #12,578, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eskaɾˈt̪aɾ]. descarto is at rank #39,154, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈkaɾt̪o].

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 51732, this pair ranks #96,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of descartar vs descarto

Shared letters: acderst. Private to "descartar": -. Private to "descarto": o.

"descartar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "descarto" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • descartar ← ddescartar · decsartar · desacrtar · descaratr · descarrtar · descartarr · descartra · descarttar
  • descarto ← ddescarto · decsarto · desacrto · descarot · descarrto · descartto · descatro · desccarto

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "descartar" and "descarto" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eskaɾˈt̪aɾ] versus [d̪esˈkaɾt̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "descartar" vs "descarto" - which ranks higher?
"descartar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,578 in our Spanish list, against #39,154 for "descarto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "descartar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "descarto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #96,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "descartar" and "descarto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descartan vs descarto". 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 #96,349 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