fechavsficharWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#658
“fecha” frequency rank
#21,338
“fichar” frequency rank
21996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fecha fichar
Definition Especificación de un día dentro de un calendario, tipicamente una fecha determina el año, el mes y el día dentro del mes. Observar con atención.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
fecha
6 ch
fichar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fecha is [ˈfet͡ʃa] while fichar is [fiˈt͡ʃaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fecha is recorded at frequency rank #658, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfet͡ʃa]. fichar is at rank #21,338, tagged as averb, pronounced [fiˈt͡ʃaɾ].

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 21996, this pair ranks #252,402 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fecha vs fichar

Shared letters: acfh. Private to "fecha": e. Private to "fichar": ir.

"fecha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "fichar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fechaefcha · fceha · fecah · feccha · fechha · fehca · ffecha
  • ficharfcihar · ffichar · ficahr · ficchar · ficharr · fichhar · fichra · fihcar

Frequency comparison

fecha#658
fichar#21,338

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fecha" and "fichar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fecha" is a noun and "fichar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fecha" or "fichar"?
"fecha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #658 in our Spanish list, against #21,338 for "fichar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fecha vs fichar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fecha”; for a verb, it's “fichar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fecha” 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