Which to use
“picar” is a verb and “picos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,348
- “picar” frequency rank
- #12,024
- “picos” frequency rank
- 30372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picar | picos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Golpear algo con una punta, agujereándolo o no. | Forma del plural de pico. |
Where the eye mixes picar and picos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: picar vs picos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: picar is [piˈkaɾ] while picos is [ˈpikos]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
picar is recorded at frequency rank #18,348, classified as averb, pronounced [piˈkaɾ]. picos is at rank #12,024, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpikos].
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 30372, this pair ranks #212,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of picar vs picos
Shared letters: cip. Private to "picar": ar. Private to "picos": os.
"picar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "picos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "picar" for "picos" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "picar" or "picos" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "picar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "picos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #212,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picar" and "picos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "petar vs picar". 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 #212,316 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.