Which to use
“pecar” is a verb and “pícara” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,714
- “pecar” frequency rank
- #46,151
- “pícara” frequency rank
- 73865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pecar | pícara |
|---|---|---|
| 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 femenino singular de pícaro. |
Where the eye mixes pecar and pícara
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pecar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pícara's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pecar and pícara
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pecar is [peˈkaɾ] while pícara is [ˈpikaɾa]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73865, 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]. pícara is at rank #46,151, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈpikaɾa].
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 73865, this pair ranks #22,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pecar vs pícara
Shared letters: acpr. Private to "pecar": e. Private to "pícara": í.
"pecar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pícara" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pecar ← epcar · pcear · peacr · pecarr · peccar · pecra · ppecar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pecar" for "pícara" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pecar" or "pícara"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pecar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pícara" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pecar" and "pícara" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pícara vs pisada". 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 #22,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.