Which to use
“merca” is a noun and “mirá” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,676
- “merca” frequency rank
- #7,883
- “mirá” frequency rank
- 42559
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merca | mirá |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Proceso y resultado de mercar o adquirir algo a cambio de dinero. | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del imperativo afirmativo de mirar. |
Where the eye mixes merca and mirá
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between merca and mirá
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: merca is [ˈmeɾka] while mirá is [miˈɾa]. 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 42559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merca is recorded at frequency rank #34,676, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeɾka]. mirá is at rank #7,883, tagged as averb, pronounced [miˈɾa].
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 42559, this pair ranks #147,537 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of merca vs mirá
Shared letters: mr. Private to "merca": ace. Private to "mirá": iá.
"merca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mirá" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- merca ← emrca · mecra · merac · mercca · merrca · mmerca · mreca
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "merca" for "mirá" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "merca" or "mirá" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "merca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mirá" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,537 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merca" and "mirá" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mepa vs merca". 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 #147,537 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.