Which to use
“picar” and “pisar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,348
- “picar” frequency rank
- #12,896
- “pisar” frequency rank
- 31244
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picar | pisar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Golpear algo con una punta, agujereándolo o no. | Poner un pie, o ambos, sobre una superficie. |
Where the eye mixes picar and pisar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: picar vs pisar
A purely visual mix-up. picar ([piˈkaɾ]) and pisar ([piˈsaɾ]) 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 a single letter - c in “picar” becomes s in “pisar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31244, 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]. pisar is at rank #12,896, tagged as averb, pronounced [piˈsaɾ].
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 31244, this pair ranks #208,045 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of picar vs pisar
Shared letters: aipr. Private to "picar": c. Private to "pisar": s.
"picar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pisar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "picar" and "pisar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "picar" vs "pisar" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "picar" and "pisar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "picar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pisar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #208,045 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picar" and "pisar" 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 #208,045 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.