pecarvspelasWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#27,714
“pecar” frequency rank
#47,315
“pelas” frequency rank
75029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pecar pelas
Definition Obrar en contra de ciertas reglas o normas éticas o mandamientos religiosos; cometer un pecado o una infracción; transgredir una prohibición moral. Forma del plural de pela.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
pecar
5 ch
pelas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pecar is [peˈkaɾ] while pelas is [ˈpelas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pecar is recorded at frequency rank #27,714, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈkaɾ]. pelas is at rank #47,315, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpelas].

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 75029, this pair ranks #20,329 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pecar vs pelas

Shared letters: aep. Private to "pecar": cr. Private to "pelas": ls.

"pecar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pelas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pecarepcar · pcear · peacr · pecarr · peccar · pecra · ppecar
  • pelaseplas · peals · pelass · pellas · pelsa · pleas · ppelas

Frequency comparison

pecar#27,714
pelas#47,315

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pecar" and "pelas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pecar" is a verb and "pelas" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pecar" or "pelas"?
"pecar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,714 in our Spanish list, against #47,315 for "pelas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pecar vs pelas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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