fechavsfocaWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fecha and foca apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fecha
4 ch
foca

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • fechaefcha · fceha · fecah · feccha · fechha · fehca · ffecha
  • focafcoa · ffoca · foac · focca · ofca

Frequency comparison

fecha#658
foca#26,451

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fecha" and "foca" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfet͡ʃa] versus [ˈfoka]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fecha" or "foca"?
"fecha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #658 in our Spanish list, against #26,451 for "foca". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fecha vs foca

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list