encararvsencarnarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,569
“encarar” frequency rank
#44,152
“encarnar” frequency rank
60721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature encarar encarnar
Definition Apuntar, dirigir a alguna parte la puntería. Dicho de una sustancia espiritual: adquirir una res corpórea. Se aplica principalmente a la acción de haberse hecho hombre el Verbo Divino.

Where the eye mixes encarar and encarnar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. encarar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against encarnar's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
encarar
8 ch
encarnar

Why the eye confuses encarar with encarnar

A purely visual mix-up. encarar ([ẽŋkaˈɾaɾ]) and encarnar ([ẽŋkaɾˈnaɾ]) 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 60721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

encarar is recorded at frequency rank #16,569, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaˈɾaɾ]. encarnar is at rank #44,152, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽŋkaɾˈnaɾ].

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 60721, this pair ranks #57,958 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of encarar vs encarnar

Shared letters: acenr. Private to "encarar": -. Private to "encarnar": -.

"encarar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "encarnar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • encararecnarar · enacrar · encaarr · encararr · encarra · encarrar · enccarar · encraar
  • encarnarecnarnar · enacrnar · encanrar · encaranr · encarnarr · encarnnar · encarnra · encarrnar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "encarar" for "encarnar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ẽŋkaˈɾaɾ] versus [ẽŋkaɾˈnaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "encarar" vs "encarnar" - which ranks higher?
"encarar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,569 in our Spanish list, against #44,152 for "encarnar". 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 "encarar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "encarnar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #57,958 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "encarar" and "encarnar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "encarnar vs escarbar". 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 #57,958 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