pericovspersoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,104
“perico” frequency rank
#46,116
“perso” frequency rank
67220
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature perico perso
Definition Cualquier ave trepadora de la familia de los loros de tamaño pequeño o mediano. Capacidad de hablar o actuar sin inhibiciones.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set perico and perso apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
perico
5 ch
perso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. perico ([peˈɾiko]) and perso ([ˈpeɾso]) 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 67220, 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]. perso is at rank #46,116, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpeɾso].

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 67220, this pair ranks #37,719 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of perico vs perso

Shared letters: eopr. Private to "perico": ci. Private to "perso": s.

"perico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "perso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pericoeprico · peirco · pericco · perioc · perrico · pperico
  • persoeprso · persso · pesro · pperso · preso

Frequency comparison

perico#21,104
perso#46,116

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "perico" and "perso" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peˈɾiko] versus [ˈpeɾso]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "perico" or "perso"?
"perico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,104 in our Spanish list, against #46,116 for "perso". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering perico vs perso

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list