encaravsescasaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: encara is a verb, escasa is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“encara” is a verb and “escasa” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,573
“encara” frequency rank
#7,016
“escasa” frequency rank
40589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encara escasa
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de encarar. Forma del femenino de escaso.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set encara and escasa apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
encara
6 ch
escasa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: encara is [ẽŋˈkaɾa] while escasa is [esˈkasa]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40589, 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]. escasa is at rank #7,016, tagged as anadj, pronounced [esˈkasa].

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 40589, this pair ranks #158,271 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of encara vs escasa

Shared letters: ace. Private to "encara": nr. Private to "escasa": s.

"encara" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escasa" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encaraecnara · enacra · encaar · enccara · encraa · enncara · necara
  • escasaecsasa · esacsa · escaas · escassa · esccasa · escsaa · esscasa · secasa

Frequency comparison

encara#33,573
escasa#7,016

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "encara" and "escasa" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "encara" is a verb and "escasa" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "encara" or "escasa"?
"escasa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,016 in our Spanish list, against #33,573 for "encara". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering encara vs escasa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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