ficharvsfijarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,338
“fichar” frequency rank
#8,802
“fijar” frequency rank
30140
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fichar fijar
Definition Observar con atención. Poner una cosa de tal forma que no se mueva.

Where the eye mixes fichar and fijar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fichar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fijar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
fichar
5 ch
fijar

Why the eye confuses fichar with fijar

A purely visual mix-up. fichar ([fiˈt͡ʃaɾ]) and fijar ([fiˈxaɾ]) 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 30140, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fichar is recorded at frequency rank #21,338, classified as averb, pronounced [fiˈt͡ʃaɾ]. fijar is at rank #8,802, tagged as averb, pronounced [fiˈxaɾ].

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 30140, this pair ranks #213,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fichar vs fijar

Shared letters: afir. Private to "fichar": ch. Private to "fijar": j.

"fichar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fijar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fichar ← fcihar · ffichar · ficahr · ficchar · ficharr · fichhar · fichra · fihcar
  • fijar ← ffijar · fiajr · fijarr · fijjar · fijra · fjiar · ifjar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fichar" and "fijar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fiˈt͡ʃaɾ] versus [fiˈxaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "fichar" or "fijar" show up more?
"fijar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,802 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 "fichar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fijar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #213,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fichar" and "fijar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fijar vs fijará". 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 #213,478 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