forzarvsforzóTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,826
“forzar” frequency rank
#20,047
“forzó” frequency rank
29873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature forzar forzó
Definition Vencer la resistencia de algo usando la fuerza. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de forzar o de forzarse.

Where the eye mixes forzar and forzó

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

6 ch
forzar
5 ch
forzó

Why the eye confuses forzar with forzó

A purely visual mix-up. forzar ([foɾˈsaɾ]) and forzó ([foɾˈso]) 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 29873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

forzar is recorded at frequency rank #9,826, classified as averb, pronounced [foɾˈsaɾ]. forzó is at rank #20,047, tagged as averb, pronounced [foɾˈso].

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 29873, this pair ranks #214,843 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of forzar vs forzó

Shared letters: forz. Private to "forzar": a. Private to "forzó": ó.

"forzar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "forzó" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • forzar ← fforzar · forazr · forrzar · forzarr · forzra · forzzar · fozrar · frozar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "forzar" for "forzó" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([foɾˈsaɾ] versus [foɾˈso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "forzar" or "forzó"?
"forzar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,826 in our Spanish list, against #20,047 for "forzó". 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 "forzar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "forzó" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #214,843 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "forzar" and "forzó" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fora vs forzó". 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 #214,843 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