picadavspicotaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,914
“picada” frequency rank
#44,373
“picota” frequency rank
59287
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature picada picota
Definition Senda estrecha en los montes, y especialmente el paso en los arroyos por donde sólo se puede cruzar a caballo. Rollo o columna de piedra o de fábrica, que había a la entrada de algunos lugares, donde se exponían las cabezas de los ajusticiados, o los reos, a la vergüenza.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
picada
6 ch
picota

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. picada ([piˈkað̞a]) and picota ([piˈkot̪a]) 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 59287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

picada is recorded at frequency rank #14,914, classified as anoun, pronounced [piˈkað̞a]. picota is at rank #44,373, tagged as anoun, pronounced [piˈkot̪a].

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 59287, this pair ranks #63,201 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of picada vs picota

Shared letters: acip. Private to "picada": d. Private to "picota": ot.

"picada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "picota" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • picadaipcada · pciada · piacda · picaad · picadda · piccada · picdaa · ppicada
  • picotaipcota · pciota · piccota · picoat · picotta · pictoa · piocta · ppicota

Frequency comparison

picada#14,914
picota#44,373

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "picada" and "picota" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([piˈkað̞a] versus [piˈkot̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "picada" or "picota"?
"picada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,914 in our Spanish list, against #44,373 for "picota". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering picada vs picota

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 “picada” 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