pachavspachoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pacha is a noun, pacho is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pacha” is a noun and “pacho” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,897
“pacha” frequency rank
#42,057
“pacho” frequency rank
81954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pacha pacho
Definition Botella pequeña y plana para llevar licor. Que rehúye el trabajo o la fatiga.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pacha and pacho apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pacha
5 ch
pacho

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pacha is [ˈpat͡ʃa] while pacho is [ˈpat͡ʃo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “pacha” becomes o in “pacho”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pacha is recorded at frequency rank #39,897, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpat͡ʃa]. pacho is at rank #42,057, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈpat͡ʃo].

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 81954, this pair ranks #9,782 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pacha vs pacho

Shared letters: achp. Private to "pacha": -. Private to "pacho": o.

"pacha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "pacho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pachaapcha · pacah · paccha · pachha · pahca · pcaha · ppacha
  • pachoapcho · paccho · pachho · pacoh · pahco · pcaho · ppacho

Frequency comparison

pacha#39,897
pacho#42,057

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pacha" and "pacho" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pacha" is a noun and "pacho" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pacha" or "pacho"?
"pacha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,897 in our Spanish list, against #42,057 for "pacho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pacha vs pacho

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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