pelarvspeleConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,534
“pelar” frequency rank
#48,579
“pele” frequency rank
72113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pelar pele
Definition Quitar el pelo o la piel a algo. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de pelar.

Where the eye mixes pelar and pele

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pelar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pele's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
pelar
4 ch
pele

Why the eye confuses pelar with pele

A purely visual mix-up. pelar ([peˈlaɾ]) and pele ([ˈpele]) 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 72113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pelar is recorded at frequency rank #23,534, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈlaɾ]. pele is at rank #48,579, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpele].

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 72113, this pair ranks #26,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pelar vs pele

Shared letters: elp. Private to "pelar": ar. Private to "pele": -.

"pelar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pele" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pelar ← eplar · pealr · pelarr · pellar · plear · ppelar
  • pele ← eple · peel · pelle · plee · ppele

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pelar" and "pele" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peˈlaɾ] versus [ˈpele]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pelar" vs "pele" - which ranks higher?
"pelar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,534 in our Spanish list, against #48,579 for "pele". 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 "pelar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #26,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pelar" and "pele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pele vs pence". 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 #26,080 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