ficharvsfilmarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,338
“fichar” frequency rank
#13,470
“filmar” frequency rank
34808
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fichar filmar
Definition Observar con atención. Grabar imágenes en una película cinematográfica.

Where the eye mixes fichar and filmar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fichar and filmar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
fichar
6 ch
filmar

Visual trap between fichar and filmar

A purely visual mix-up. fichar ([fiˈt͡ʃaɾ]) and filmar ([filˈmaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34808, 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]. filmar is at rank #13,470, tagged as averb, pronounced [filˈmaɾ].

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 34808, this pair ranks #189,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fichar vs filmar

Shared letters: afir. Private to "fichar": ch. Private to "filmar": lm.

"fichar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "filmar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fichar ← fcihar · ffichar · ficahr · ficchar · ficharr · fichhar · fichra · fihcar
  • filmar ← ffilmar · filamr · fillmar · filmarr · filmmar · filmra · fimlar · flimar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fichar" for "filmar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fiˈt͡ʃaɾ] versus [filˈmaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fichar" vs "filmar" - which ranks higher?
"filmar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,470 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 "filmar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #189,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fichar" and "filmar" 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 #189,468 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