perdidovspericoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: perdido is a adjective, perico is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“perdido” is an adjective and “perico” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,178
“perdido” frequency rank
#21,104
“perico” frequency rank
22282
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature perdido perico
Definition Sin meta o rumbo determinado. Cualquier ave trepadora de la familia de los loros de tamaño pequeño o mediano.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set perdido and perico apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
perdido
6 ch
perico

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: perdido is [peɾˈð̞ið̞o] while perico is [peˈɾiko]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

perdido is recorded at frequency rank #1,178, classified as anadj, pronounced [peɾˈð̞ið̞o]. perico is at rank #21,104, tagged as anoun, pronounced [peˈɾiko].

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 22282, this pair ranks #251,062 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of perdido vs perico

Shared letters: eiopr. Private to "perdido": d. Private to "perico": c.

"perdido" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "perico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • perdidoeprdido · pedrido · perddido · perddio · perdiddo · perdiod · periddo · perrdido
  • pericoeprico · peirco · pericco · perioc · perrico · pperico

Frequency comparison

perdido#1,178
perico#21,104

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "perdido" and "perico" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "perdido" is an adjective and "perico" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "perdido" or "perico"?
"perdido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,178 in our Spanish list, against #21,104 for "perico". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering perdido vs perico

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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