ocultavsocultarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,642
“oculta” frequency rank
#5,023
“ocultar” frequency rank
10665
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature oculta ocultar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de ocultar. Esconder algo a la vista.

Where the eye mixes oculta and ocultar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. oculta runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against ocultar's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
oculta
7 ch
ocultar

Why the eye confuses oculta with ocultar

A purely visual mix-up. oculta ([oˈkul̪t̪a]) and ocultar ([okul̪ˈt̪aɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “oculta” sits inside “ocultar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10665, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

oculta is recorded at frequency rank #5,642, classified as averb, pronounced [oˈkul̪t̪a]. 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 10665, this pair ranks #297,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of oculta vs ocultar

Shared letters: aclotu. Private to "oculta": -. Private to "ocultar": r.

"oculta" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "ocultar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • oculta ← coulta · occulta · ocluta · oculat · ocullta · ocultta · ocutla · ouclta
  • ocultar ← coultar · occultar · oclutar · oculatr · oculltar · ocultarr · ocultra · oculttar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "oculta" and "ocultar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([oˈkul̪t̪a] versus [okul̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "oculta" vs "ocultar" - which ranks higher?
"ocultar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,023 in our Spanish list, against #5,642 for "oculta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "oculta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ocultar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "oculta" and "ocultar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ocultar vs ocultaron". 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 #297,828 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