picarvspodarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“picar” and “podar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,348
“picar” frequency rank
#46,126
“podar” frequency rank
64474
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature picar podar
Definition Golpear algo con una punta, agujereándolo o no. Cortar las ramas superfluas de los árboles.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set picar and podar apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
picar
5 ch
podar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. picar ([piˈkaɾ]) and podar ([poˈð̞aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64474, 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]. podar is at rank #46,126, tagged as averb, pronounced [poˈð̞aɾ].

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 64474, this pair ranks #45,478 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of picar vs podar

Shared letters: apr. Private to "picar": ci. Private to "podar": do.

"picar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "podar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • picaripcar · pciar · piacr · picarr · piccar · picra · ppicar
  • podaropdar · pdoar · poadr · podarr · poddar · podra · ppodar

Frequency comparison

picar#18,348
podar#46,126

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "picar" and "podar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([piˈkaɾ] versus [poˈð̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "picar" or "podar"?
"picar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,348 in our Spanish list, against #46,126 for "podar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering picar vs podar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “picar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list