fecalvsfechaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fecal is a adjective, fecha is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fecal” is an adjective and “fecha” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,046
“fecal” frequency rank
#658
“fecha” frequency rank
36704
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fecal fecha
Definition Se dice de la materia puramente excrementicia. Especificación de un día dentro de un calendario, tipicamente una fecha determina el año, el mes y el día dentro del mes.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
fecal
5 ch
fecha

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fecal is [feˈkal] while fecha is [ˈfet͡ʃa]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fecal is recorded at frequency rank #36,046, classified as anadj, pronounced [feˈkal]. fecha is at rank #658, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfet͡ʃa].

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 36704, this pair ranks #179,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fecal vs fecha

Shared letters: acef. Private to "fecal": l. Private to "fecha": h.

"fecal" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fecha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fecalefcal · fceal · feacl · fecall · feccal · fecla · ffecal
  • fechaefcha · fceha · fecah · feccha · fechha · fehca · ffecha

Frequency comparison

fecal#36,046
fecha#658

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fecal" and "fecha" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fecal" is an adjective and "fecha" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fecal" or "fecha"?
"fecha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #658 in our Spanish list, against #36,046 for "fecal". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fecal vs fecha

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fecal”; for a noun, it's “fecha”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fecal” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list