Which to use
“fecha” and “foca” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #658
- “fecha” frequency rank
- #26,451
- “foca” frequency rank
- 27109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fecha | foca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Especificación de un día dentro de un calendario, tipicamente una fecha determina el año, el mes y el día dentro del mes. | Nombre genérico para diversos mamíferos pinnípedos marinos, en particular para aquellos de la familia Fócidos (Phocidae), adaptados a vivir en medios acuáticos la mayor parte del tiempo. Tienen cuerpos alargados y fusiformes, adaptados a la natación; las extremidades anteriores son cortas y aplanadas, mejor preparadas para su uso como aletas que para el desplazamiento en tierra. |
Where the eye mixes fecha and foca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fecha runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against foca's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fecha vs foca
A purely visual mix-up. fecha ([ˈfet͡ʃa]) and foca ([ˈfoka]) 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 27109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fecha is recorded at frequency rank #658, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfet͡ʃa]. foca is at rank #26,451, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoka].
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 27109, this pair ranks #228,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fecha vs foca
Shared letters: acf. Private to "fecha": eh. Private to "foca": o.
"fecha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "foca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fecha" for "foca" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fecha" vs "foca" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fecha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #228,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fecha" and "foca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foca vs fora". 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 #228,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.