pararvspesarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,259
“parar” frequency rank
#526
“pesar” frequency rank
2785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parar pesar
Definition Detener; evitar el avance, el movimiento o la acción de algo o de alguien. Establecer el peso o la masa de algo, en particular empleando un instrumento para tal efecto.

Where the eye mixes parar and pesar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
parar
5 ch
pesar

Why the eye confuses parar with pesar

A purely visual mix-up. parar ([paˈɾaɾ]) and pesar ([peˈsaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parar is recorded at frequency rank #2,259, classified as averb, pronounced [paˈɾaɾ]. pesar is at rank #526, tagged as averb, pronounced [peˈsaɾ].

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 2785, this pair ranks #319,638 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of parar vs pesar

Shared letters: apr. Private to "parar": -. Private to "pesar": es.

"parar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pesar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pararaprar · paarr · pararr · parrar · pparar · praar
  • pesarepsar · peasr · pesarr · pesra · pessar · ppesar · psear

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "parar" and "pesar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([paˈɾaɾ] versus [peˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "parar" or "pesar"?
"pesar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #526 in our Spanish list, against #2,259 for "parar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "parar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pesar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #319,638 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "parar" and "pesar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parar vs petar". 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 #319,638 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