pegarvspesarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,442
“pegar” frequency rank
#526
“pesar” frequency rank
6968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pegar pesar
Definition Hacer que una cosa quede adherida a otra. Establecer el peso o la masa de algo, en particular empleando un instrumento para tal efecto.

Where the eye mixes pegar and pesar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
pegar
5 ch
pesar

Look-alike desk: pegar vs pesar

A purely visual mix-up. pegar ([peˈɣ̞aɾ]) 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 differ by a single letter - g in “pegar” becomes s in “pesar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pegar is recorded at frequency rank #6,442, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈɣ̞aɾ]. 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 6968, this pair ranks #309,307 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pegar vs pesar

Shared letters: aepr. Private to "pegar": g. Private to "pesar": s.

"pegar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pesar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pegarepgar · peagr · pegarr · peggar · pegra · pgear · ppegar
  • pesarepsar · peasr · pesarr · pesra · pessar · ppesar · psear

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pegar" and "pesar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [peˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pegar" vs "pesar" - which ranks higher?
"pesar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #526 in our Spanish list, against #6,442 for "pegar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "pegar" 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 #309,307 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pegar" and "pesar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pegar 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 #309,307 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