embarcarvsempacarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,633
“embarcar” frequency rank
#41,326
“empacar” frequency rank
73959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature embarcar empacar
Definition Ingresar o introducir personas o mercancías en un barco, avión, tren u otro medio de transporte para viajar. Empaquetar, acondicionar cosas en paquetes o fardos.

Where the eye mixes embarcar and empacar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
embarcar
7 ch
empacar

Look-alike desk: embarcar vs empacar

A purely visual mix-up. embarcar ([ẽmbaɾˈkaɾ]) and empacar ([ẽmpaˈkaɾ]) 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 73959, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

embarcar is recorded at frequency rank #32,633, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽmbaɾˈkaɾ]. empacar is at rank #41,326, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽmpaˈkaɾ].

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 73959, this pair ranks #22,255 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of embarcar vs empacar

Shared letters: acemr. Private to "embarcar": b. Private to "empacar": p.

"embarcar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "empacar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • embarcarebmarcar · emabrcar · embacrar · embaracr · embarcarr · embarccar · embarcra · embarrcar
  • empacaremapcar · emmpacar · empaacr · empacarr · empaccar · empacra · empcaar · emppacar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "embarcar" for "empacar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ẽmbaɾˈkaɾ] versus [ẽmpaˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "embarcar" or "empacar"?
"embarcar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,633 in our Spanish list, against #41,326 for "empacar". 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 "embarcar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empacar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,255 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "embarcar" and "empacar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "embarcar vs embarcaron". 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 #22,255 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