pacevsparcaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pace is a verb, parca is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pace” is a verb and “parca” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,175
“pace” frequency rank
#49,842
“parca” frequency rank
85017
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pace parca
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pacer. Cada una de las tres diosas romanas del destino, llamadas Nona, Décima y Morta. La primera hilaba el hijo de la vida humana, la segunda lo medía con una vara y la tercera lo cortaba.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pace and parca apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
pace
5 ch
parca

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pace is [ˈpase] while parca is [ˈpaɾka]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pace is recorded at frequency rank #35,175, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpase]. parca is at rank #49,842, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpaɾka].

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 85017, this pair ranks #6,494 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pace vs parca

Shared letters: acp. Private to "pace": e. Private to "parca": r.

"pace" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "parca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • paceapce · pacce · paec · pcae · ppace
  • parcaaprca · pacra · parac · parcca · parrca · pparca · praca

Frequency comparison

pace#35,175
parca#49,842

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pace" and "parca" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pace" is a verb and "parca" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pace" or "parca"?
"pace" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,175 in our Spanish list, against #49,842 for "parca". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pace vs parca

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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