fichavsficharTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#6,062
“ficha” frequency rank
#21,338
“fichar” frequency rank
27400
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ficha fichar
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. Observar con atención.

Where the eye mixes ficha and fichar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ficha runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against fichar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
ficha
6 ch
fichar

Look-alike desk: ficha vs fichar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ficha is [ˈfit͡ʃa] while fichar is [fiˈt͡ʃaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ficha” sits inside “fichar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27400, 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]. 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 27400, this pair ranks #227,000 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ficha vs fichar

Shared letters: acfhi. Private to "ficha": -. Private to "fichar": r.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ficha ← fciha · fficha · ficah · ficcha · fichha · fihca · ifcha
  • fichar ← fcihar · ffichar · ficahr · ficchar · ficharr · fichhar · fichra · fihcar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ficha" for "fichar" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ficha" is a noun and "fichar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ficha" or "fichar"?
"ficha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,062 in our Spanish list, against #21,338 for "fichar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "ficha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fichar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,000 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ficha" and "fichar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fachas vs fichar". 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 #227,000 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list