Which to use
“encara” is a verb and “encima” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,573
- “encara” frequency rank
- #684
- “encima” frequency rank
- 34257
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | encara | encima |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encarar. | Arriba de. |
Where the eye mixes encara and encima
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. encara and encima follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: encara vs encima
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encara is [ẽŋˈkaɾa] while encima is [ẽnˈsima]. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
encara is recorded at frequency rank #33,573, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋˈkaɾa]. encima is at rank #684, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ẽnˈsima].
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 34257, this pair ranks #192,422 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of encara vs encima
Shared letters: acen. Private to "encara": r. Private to "encima": im.
"encara" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "encima" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "encara" for "encima" ever safe?
Frequency check: "encara" vs "encima" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "encara" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "encima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,422 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "encara" and "encima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encara vs encarnar". 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 #192,422 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.