petarvspicarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,859
“petar” frequency rank
#18,348
“picar” frequency rank
68207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature petar picar
Definition Dar sensación de agrado o placer. Golpear algo con una punta, agujereándolo o no.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set petar and picar apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
petar
5 ch
picar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. petar ([peˈt̪aɾ]) and picar ([piˈkaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

petar is recorded at frequency rank #49,859, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈt̪aɾ]. picar is at rank #18,348, tagged as averb, pronounced [piˈkaɾ].

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 68207, this pair ranks #35,105 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of petar vs picar

Shared letters: apr. Private to "petar": et. Private to "picar": ci.

"petar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "picar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • petareptar · peatr · petarr · pettar · ppetar · ptear
  • picaripcar · pciar · piacr · picarr · piccar · picra · ppicar

Frequency comparison

petar#49,859
picar#18,348

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "petar" and "picar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([peˈt̪aɾ] versus [piˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "petar" or "picar"?
"picar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,348 in our Spanish list, against #49,859 for "petar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering petar vs picar

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 “petar” 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