explicanvsexplicarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,668
“explican” frequency rank
#1,850
“explicar” frequency rank
8518
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explican explicar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de explicar. Declarar, exponer una persona lo que piensa.

Where the eye mixes explican and explicar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
explican
8 ch
explicar

Look-alike desk: explican vs explicar

A purely visual mix-up. explican ([eksˈplikãn]) and explicar ([ekspliˈkaɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “explican” becomes r in “explicar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explican is recorded at frequency rank #6,668, classified as averb, pronounced [eksˈplikãn]. explicar is at rank #1,850, tagged as averb, pronounced [ekspliˈkaɾ].

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 8518, this pair ranks #304,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of explican vs explicar

Shared letters: aceilpx. Private to "explican": n. Private to "explicar": r.

"explican" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "explicar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explicanepxlican · exlpican · expilcan · explcian · expliacn · explicann · expliccan · explicna
  • explicarepxlicar · exlpicar · expilcar · explciar · expliacr · explicarr · expliccar · explicra

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "explican" for "explicar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eksˈplikãn] versus [ekspliˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "explican" vs "explicar" - which ranks higher?
"explicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,850 in our Spanish list, against #6,668 for "explican". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "explican" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explicar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #304,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explican" and "explicar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explicaban vs explican". 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 #304,762 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