Which to use
“ficha” is a noun and “fichado” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,062
- “ficha” frequency rank
- #28,758
- “fichado” frequency rank
- 34820
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ficha | fichado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pieza pequeña, cilíndrica y chata similar a una moneda que tiene valor dentro de un circuito cerrado, como por ejemplo, un casino, un lavedero de autos, una sala de juegos, etc. | Participio de fichar. |
Where the eye mixes ficha and fichado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ficha runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against fichado's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ficha with fichado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ficha is [ˈfit͡ʃa] while fichado is [fiˈt͡ʃað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ficha” sits inside “fichado”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ficha is recorded at frequency rank #6,062, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfit͡ʃa]. fichado is at rank #28,758, tagged as averb, pronounced [fiˈt͡ʃað̞o].
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 34820, this pair ranks #189,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ficha vs fichado
Shared letters: acfhi. Private to "ficha": -. Private to "fichado": do.
"ficha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fichado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ficha" for "fichado" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ficha" vs "fichado" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ficha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fichado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #189,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ficha" and "fichado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fichado vs finado". 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 #189,381 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.