Which to use
“picado” is an adjective and “pinchado” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,669
- “picado” frequency rank
- #46,122
- “pinchado” frequency rank
- 58791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picado | pinchado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Epíteto del patrón que se hace con picaduras para señalar un dibujo. | Participio de pinchar. |
Where the eye mixes picado and pinchado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. picado runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against pinchado's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: picado vs pinchado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: picado is [piˈkað̞o] while pinchado is [pĩnʲˈt͡ʃað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
picado is recorded at frequency rank #12,669, classified as anadj, pronounced [piˈkað̞o]. pinchado is at rank #46,122, tagged as averb, pronounced [pĩnʲˈt͡ʃað̞o].
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 58791, this pair ranks #65,129 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of picado vs pinchado
Shared letters: acdiop. Private to "picado": -. Private to "pinchado": hn.
"picado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "pinchado" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "picado" and "pinchado" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "picado" vs "pinchado" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "picado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pinchado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,129 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picado" and "pinchado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pinchado vs planchado". 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 #65,129 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.