padecervspareceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,678
“padecer” frequency rank
#166
“parece” frequency rank
15844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature padecer parece
Definition Sufrir un daño de cualquier clase, como una carga, un mal o una enfermedad Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de parecer o de parecerse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set padecer and parece apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
padecer
6 ch
parece

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. padecer ([pað̞eˈseɾ]) and parece ([paˈɾese]) 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 15844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

padecer is recorded at frequency rank #15,678, classified as averb, pronounced [pað̞eˈseɾ]. parece is at rank #166, tagged as averb, pronounced [paˈɾese].

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 15844, this pair ranks #278,548 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of padecer vs parece

Shared letters: acepr. Private to "padecer": d. Private to "parece": -.

"padecer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "parece" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • padecerapdecer · padceer · paddecer · padeccer · padecerr · padecre · padeecr · padeser
  • pareceaprece · paerce · parcee · parecce · pareec · parese · parrece · pparece

Frequency comparison

padecer#15,678
parece#166

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "padecer" and "parece" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pað̞eˈseɾ] versus [paˈɾese]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "padecer" or "parece"?
"parece" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #166 in our Spanish list, against #15,678 for "padecer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering padecer vs parece

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “padecer” 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