Which to use
“picada” is a noun and “pierda” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,914
- “picada” frequency rank
- #6,578
- “pierda” frequency rank
- 21492
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picada | pierda |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Senda estrecha en los montes, y especialmente el paso en los arroyos por donde sólo se puede cruzar a caballo. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de perder o de perderse. |
Where the eye mixes picada and pierda
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. picada (CVCVCV) and pierda (CVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between picada and pierda
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: picada is [piˈkað̞a] while pierda is [ˈpjeɾð̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21492, 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]. pierda is at rank #6,578, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpjeɾð̞a].
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 21492, this pair ranks #254,689 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of picada vs pierda
Shared letters: adip. Private to "picada": c. Private to "pierda": er.
"picada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "pierda" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "picada" and "pierda" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "picada" or "pierda"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "picada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pierda" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,689 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picada" and "pierda" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "picada vs picados". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #254,689 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.