focavsfomeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: foca is a noun, fome is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#26,451
“foca” frequency rank
#38,128
“fome” frequency rank
64579
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature foca fome
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. Que no provoca gracia.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set foca and fome apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
foca
4 ch
fome

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foca is [ˈfoka] while fome is [ˈfome]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64579, 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]. fome is at rank #38,128, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfome].

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 64579, this pair ranks #45,175 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of foca vs fome

Shared letters: fo. Private to "foca": ac. Private to "fome": em.

"foca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fome" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • focafcoa · ffoca · foac · focca · ofca
  • fomeffome · fmoe · foem · fomme · ofme

Frequency comparison

foca#26,451
fome#38,128

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "foca" and "fome" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "foca" is a noun and "fome" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "foca" or "fome"?
"foca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,451 in our Spanish list, against #38,128 for "fome". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering foca vs fome

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “foca”; for an adjective, it's “fome”.
  • 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