Which to use
“dicho” is an adjective and “dicta” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #317
- “dicho” frequency rank
- #13,887
- “dicta” frequency rank
- 14204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dicho | dicta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mencionado anteriormente. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dictar. |
Where the eye mixes dicho and dicta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dicho with dicta
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dicho is [ˈd̪it͡ʃo] while dicta is [ˈd̪ikt̪a]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dicho is recorded at frequency rank #317, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈd̪it͡ʃo]. dicta is at rank #13,887, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈd̪ikt̪a].
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 14204, this pair ranks #285,028 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dicho vs dicta
Shared letters: cdi. Private to "dicho": ho. Private to "dicta": at.
"dicho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dicta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dicho" for "dicta" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "dicho" or "dicta" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "dicho" and "dicta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dicho" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dicta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,028 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dicho" and "dicta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dicta vs dictará". 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 #285,028 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.