Which to use
“dificulta” and “dificultar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,590
- “dificulta” frequency rank
- #30,036
- “dificultar” frequency rank
- 45626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dificulta | dificultar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de dificultar. | Poner dificultades, sean estas físicas, mediante obstáculos, o abstractas, alegando opiniones contrarias a una intención. |
Where the eye mixes dificulta and dificultar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dificulta and dificultar
A purely visual mix-up. dificulta ([d̪ifiˈkul̪t̪a]) and dificultar ([d̪ifikul̪ˈt̪aɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “dificulta” sits inside “dificultar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dificulta is recorded at frequency rank #15,590, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪ifiˈkul̪t̪a]. dificultar is at rank #30,036, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪ifikul̪ˈt̪aɾ].
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 45626, this pair ranks #130,359 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dificulta vs dificultar
Shared letters: acdfiltu. Private to "dificulta": -. Private to "dificultar": r.
"dificulta" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV · "dificultar" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dificulta ← ddificulta · dfiiculta · difciulta · difficulta · dificculta · dificluta · dificulat · dificullta
- dificultar ← ddificultar · dfiicultar · difciultar · difficultar · dificcultar · dificlutar · dificulatr · dificulltar
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dificulta" and "dificultar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "dificulta" or "dificultar"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dificulta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dificultar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #130,359 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dificulta" and "dificultar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dificultan vs dificultar". 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 #130,359 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.