fichavsflechaTell them apart

Which to use

“ficha” and “flecha” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,062
“ficha” frequency rank
#9,458
“flecha” frequency rank
15520
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ficha flecha
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. Proyectil con forma estrecha y fina, con punta triangular normalmente afilada. Se proyecta mediante un arco.

Where the eye mixes ficha and flecha

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
ficha
6 ch
flecha

Visual trap between ficha and flecha

A purely visual mix-up. ficha ([ˈfit͡ʃa]) and flecha ([ˈflet͡ʃa]) 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 15520, 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]. flecha is at rank #9,458, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈflet͡ʃa].

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 15520, this pair ranks #279,811 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ficha vs flecha

Shared letters: acfh. Private to "ficha": i. Private to "flecha": el.

"ficha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "flecha" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fichafciha · fficha · ficah · ficcha · fichha · fihca · ifcha
  • flechafelcha · fflecha · flceha · flecah · fleccha · flechha · flehca · fllecha

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ficha" and "flecha" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfit͡ʃa] versus [ˈflet͡ʃa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ficha" or "flecha"?
"ficha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,062 in our Spanish list, against #9,458 for "flecha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "flecha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #279,811 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ficha" and "flecha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flecha vs flecos". 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 #279,811 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