ocularvsocultarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ocular is a adjective, ocultar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ocular” is an adjective and “ocultar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,912
“ocular” frequency rank
#5,023
“ocultar” frequency rank
20935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ocular ocultar
Definition Propio de o relativo al ojo. Esconder algo a la vista.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ocular and ocultar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ocular
7 ch
ocultar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ocular is [okuˈlaɾ] while ocultar is [okul̪ˈt̪aɾ]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ocular is recorded at frequency rank #15,912, classified as anadj, pronounced [okuˈlaɾ]. ocultar is at rank #5,023, tagged as averb, pronounced [okul̪ˈt̪aɾ].

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 20935, this pair ranks #257,112 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ocular vs ocultar

Shared letters: acloru. Private to "ocular": -. Private to "ocultar": t.

"ocular" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "ocultar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ocularcoular · occular · ocluar · ocualr · ocularr · ocullar · oculra · ouclar
  • ocultarcoultar · occultar · oclutar · oculatr · oculltar · ocultarr · ocultra · oculttar

Frequency comparison

ocular#15,912
ocultar#5,023

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ocular" and "ocultar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ocular" is an adjective and "ocultar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ocular" or "ocultar"?
"ocultar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,023 in our Spanish list, against #15,912 for "ocular". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ocular vs ocultar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ocular”; for a verb, it's “ocultar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ocular” 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