migrarvsmirarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,715
“migrar” frequency rank
#1,581
“mirar” frequency rank
27296
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature migrar mirar
Definition Desplazarse e ir a habitar a otro país o territorio, de modo permanente o periódico. Fijar la vista en un objeto, aplicando juntamente la atención.

Where the eye mixes migrar and mirar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
migrar
5 ch
mirar

Why the eye confuses migrar with mirar

A purely visual mix-up. migrar ([miˈɣ̞ɾaɾ]) and mirar ([miˈɾaɾ]) 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 27296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

migrar is recorded at frequency rank #25,715, classified as averb, pronounced [miˈɣ̞ɾaɾ]. mirar is at rank #1,581, tagged as averb, pronounced [miˈɾaɾ].

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 27296, this pair ranks #227,525 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of migrar vs mirar

Shared letters: aimr. Private to "migrar": g. Private to "mirar": -.

"migrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mirar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • migrarimgrar · mgirar · migarr · miggrar · migrarr · migrra · migrrar · mirgar
  • mirarimrar · miarr · mirarr · mirra · mirrar · mmirar · mriar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "migrar" and "mirar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([miˈɣ̞ɾaɾ] versus [miˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "migrar" vs "mirar" - which ranks higher?
"mirar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,581 in our Spanish list, against #25,715 for "migrar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "migrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mirar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,525 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "migrar" and "mirar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "migra vs migrar". 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 #227,525 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