faltarvsfiltrarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,023
“faltar” frequency rank
#16,339
“filtrar” frequency rank
23362
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature faltar filtrar
Definition No estar en un sitio. Hacer pasar un líquido por un filtro.

Where the eye mixes faltar and filtrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. faltar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against filtrar's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
faltar
7 ch
filtrar

Look-alike desk: faltar vs filtrar

A purely visual mix-up. faltar ([fal̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and filtrar ([fil̪ˈt̪ɾaɾ]) 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 23362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

faltar is recorded at frequency rank #7,023, classified as averb, pronounced [fal̪ˈt̪aɾ]. filtrar is at rank #16,339, tagged as averb, pronounced [fil̪ˈt̪ɾaɾ].

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 23362, this pair ranks #246,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of faltar vs filtrar

Shared letters: aflrt. Private to "faltar": -. Private to "filtrar": i.

"faltar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "filtrar" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • faltar ← afltar · falatr · falltar · faltarr · faltra · falttar · fatlar · ffaltar
  • filtrar ← ffiltrar · filltrar · filrtar · filtarr · filtrarr · filtrra · filtrrar · filttrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "faltar" for "filtrar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fal̪ˈt̪aɾ] versus [fil̪ˈt̪ɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "faltar" vs "filtrar" - which ranks higher?
"faltar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,023 in our Spanish list, against #16,339 for "filtrar". 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 "faltar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "filtrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #246,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "faltar" and "filtrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filtrar vs filtraron". 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 #246,147 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