fichasvsfocasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,121
“fichas” frequency rank
#27,995
“focas” frequency rank
37116
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fichas focas
Definition Forma del plural de ficha. Forma del plural de foca.

Where the eye mixes fichas and focas

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

6 ch
fichas
5 ch
focas

Visual trap between fichas and focas

A purely visual mix-up. fichas ([ˈfit͡ʃas]) and focas ([ˈfokas]) 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 37116, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fichas is recorded at frequency rank #9,121, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfit͡ʃas]. focas is at rank #27,995, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfokas].

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 37116, this pair ranks #177,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fichas vs focas

Shared letters: acfs. Private to "fichas": hi. Private to "focas": o.

"fichas" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "focas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fichas ← fcihas · ffichas · ficahs · ficchas · fichass · fichhas · fichsa · fihcas
  • focas ← fcoas · ffocas · foacs · focass · foccas · focsa · ofcas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fichas" for "focas" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfit͡ʃas] versus [ˈfokas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fichas" vs "focas" - which ranks higher?
"fichas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,121 in our Spanish list, against #27,995 for "focas". 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 "fichas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "focas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #177,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fichas" and "focas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flojas vs focas". 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 #177,018 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