Which to use
“picar” and “pida” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,348
- “picar” frequency rank
- #7,338
- “pida” frequency rank
- 25686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picar | pida |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Golpear algo con una punta, agujereándolo o no. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de pedir. |
Where the eye mixes picar and pida
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: picar vs pida
A purely visual mix-up. picar ([piˈkaɾ]) and pida ([ˈpið̞a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25686, 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]. pida is at rank #7,338, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpið̞a].
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 25686, this pair ranks #235,289 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of picar vs pida
Shared letters: aip. Private to "picar": cr. Private to "pida": d.
"picar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pida" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "picar" for "pida" ever safe?
Frequency check: "picar" vs "pida" - which ranks higher?
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 "pida" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #235,289 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picar" and "pida" 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 #235,289 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.