disculpavsdisculpoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,506
“disculpa” frequency rank
#29,605
“disculpo” frequency rank
34111
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature disculpa disculpo
Definition Argumento con el que se intenta negar o quitar importancia a una culpa. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de disculpar o de disculparse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set disculpa and disculpo apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
disculpa
8 ch
disculpo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: disculpa is [d̪isˈkulpa] while disculpo is [d̪isˈkulpo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “disculpa” becomes o in “disculpo”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

disculpa is recorded at frequency rank #4,506, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪isˈkulpa]. disculpo is at rank #29,605, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪isˈkulpo].

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 34111, this pair ranks #193,201 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of disculpa vs disculpo

Shared letters: cdilpsu. Private to "disculpa": a. Private to "disculpo": o.

"disculpa" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "disculpo" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • disculpaddisculpa · dicsulpa · discculpa · disclupa · disculap · discullpa · disculppa · discupla
  • disculpoddisculpo · dicsulpo · discculpo · disclupo · discullpo · disculop · disculppo · discuplo

Frequency comparison

disculpa#4,506
disculpo#29,605

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "disculpa" and "disculpo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "disculpa" is a noun and "disculpo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "disculpa" or "disculpo"?
"disculpa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,506 in our Spanish list, against #29,605 for "disculpo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering disculpa vs disculpo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “disculpa”; for a verb, it's “disculpo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “disculpa” 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