pericovspermitoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#21,104
“perico” frequency rank
#18,931
“permito” frequency rank
40035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature perico permito
Definition Cualquier ave trepadora de la familia de los loros de tamaño pequeño o mediano. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de permitir o de permitirse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
perico
7 ch
permito

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: perico is [peˈɾiko] while permito is [peɾˈmit̪o]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

perico is recorded at frequency rank #21,104, classified as anoun, pronounced [peˈɾiko]. permito is at rank #18,931, tagged as averb, pronounced [peɾˈmit̪o].

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 40035, this pair ranks #161,275 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of perico vs permito

Shared letters: eiopr. Private to "perico": c. Private to "permito": mt.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pericoeprico · peirco · pericco · perioc · perrico · pperico
  • permitoeprmito · pemrito · perimto · permiot · permitto · permmito · permtio · perrmito

Frequency comparison

perico#21,104
permito#18,931

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "perico" and "permito" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "perico" is a noun and "permito" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "perico" or "permito"?
"permito" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,931 in our Spanish list, against #21,104 for "perico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering perico vs permito

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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