filtravsfiltrarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,372
“filtra” frequency rank
#16,339
“filtrar” frequency rank
36711
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature filtra filtrar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de filtrar. Hacer pasar un líquido por un filtro.

Where the eye mixes filtra and filtrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. filtra runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against filtrar's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
filtra
7 ch
filtrar

Look-alike desk: filtra vs filtrar

A purely visual mix-up. filtra ([ˈfil̪t̪ɾa]) and filtrar ([fil̪ˈt̪ɾaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “filtra” sits inside “filtrar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

filtra is recorded at frequency rank #20,372, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfil̪t̪ɾa]. filtrar is at rank #16,339, tagged as averb, pronounced [fil̪ˈt̪ɾaɾ].

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 36711, this pair ranks #179,212 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of filtra vs filtrar

Shared letters: afilrt. Private to "filtra": -. Private to "filtrar": -.

"filtra" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "filtrar" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • filtra ← ffiltra · filltra · filrta · filtar · filttra · fitlra · flitra · ifltra
  • filtrar ← ffiltrar · filltrar · filrtar · filtarr · filtrarr · filtrra · filtrrar · filttrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "filtra" and "filtrar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfil̪t̪ɾa] versus [fil̪ˈt̪ɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "filtra" or "filtrar" show up more?
"filtrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,339 in our Spanish list, against #20,372 for "filtra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "filtra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "filtrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #179,212 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "filtra" and "filtrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fijará vs filtra". 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 #179,212 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