enfocavsenfocarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,086
“enfoca” frequency rank
#19,098
“enfocar” frequency rank
35184
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enfoca enfocar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de enfocar o de enfocarse. Ajustar la imagen de un objeto captada por un dispositivo o aparato óptico para que se reproduzca con claridad o nitidez.

Where the eye mixes enfoca and enfocar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. enfoca runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against enfocar's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
enfoca
7 ch
enfocar

Visual trap between enfoca and enfocar

A purely visual mix-up. enfoca ([ẽɱˈfoka]) and enfocar ([ẽɱfoˈkaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “enfoca” sits inside “enfocar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enfoca is recorded at frequency rank #16,086, classified as averb, pronounced [ẽɱˈfoka]. enfocar is at rank #19,098, tagged as averb, pronounced [ẽɱfoˈkaɾ].

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 35184, this pair ranks #187,448 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enfoca vs enfocar

Shared letters: acefno. Private to "enfoca": -. Private to "enfocar": r.

"enfoca" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "enfocar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enfocaefnoca · enfcoa · enffoca · enfoac · enfocca · ennfoca · enofca · nefoca
  • enfocarefnocar · enfcoar · enffocar · enfoacr · enfocarr · enfoccar · enfocra · ennfocar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "enfoca" for "enfocar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ẽɱˈfoka] versus [ẽɱfoˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enfoca" or "enfocar"?
"enfoca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,086 in our Spanish list, against #19,098 for "enfocar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "enfoca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enfocar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #187,448 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "enfoca" and "enfocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enfadar vs enfocar". 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 #187,448 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