focavsfollaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: foca is a noun, folla is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“foca” is a noun and “folla” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,451
“foca” frequency rank
#28,765
“folla” frequency rank
55216
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature foca folla
Definition Nombre genérico para diversos mamíferos pinnípedos marinos, en particular para aquellos de la familia Fócidos (Phocidae), adaptados a vivir en medios acuáticos la mayor parte del tiempo. Tienen cuerpos alargados y fusiformes, adaptados a la natación; las extremidades anteriores son cortas y aplanadas, mejor preparadas para su uso como aletas que para el desplazamiento en tierra. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de follar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set foca and folla apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
foca
5 ch
folla

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foca is [ˈfoka] while folla is [ˈfoʝa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

foca is recorded at frequency rank #26,451, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoka]. folla is at rank #28,765, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoʝa].

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 55216, this pair ranks #79,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of foca vs folla

Shared letters: afo. Private to "foca": c. Private to "folla": l.

"foca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "folla" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • focafcoa · ffoca · foac · focca · ofca
  • follaffolla · flola · fola · folal · oflla

Frequency comparison

foca#26,451
folla#28,765

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "foca" and "folla" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "foca" is a noun and "folla" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "foca" or "folla"?
"foca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,451 in our Spanish list, against #28,765 for "folla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering foca vs folla

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “foca”; for a verb, it's “folla”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “foca” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list