precisavsprecisarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,100
“precisa” frequency rank
#20,164
“precisar” frequency rank
26264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature precisa precisar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de precisar. Obligar a alguno a la ejecución de alguna cosa.

Where the eye mixes precisa and precisar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. precisa runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against precisar's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
precisa
8 ch
precisar

Look-alike desk: precisa vs precisar

A purely visual mix-up. precisa ([pɾeˈsisa]) and precisar ([pɾesiˈsaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “precisa” sits inside “precisar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

precisa is recorded at frequency rank #6,100, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeˈsisa]. precisar is at rank #20,164, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾesiˈsaɾ].

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 26264, this pair ranks #232,499 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of precisa vs precisar

Shared letters: aceiprs. Private to "precisa": -. Private to "precisar": -.

"precisa" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "precisar" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • precisa ← percisa · pprecisa · prceisa · preccisa · precias · precissa · precsia · preicsa
  • precisar ← percisar · pprecisar · prceisar · preccisar · preciasr · precisarr · precisra · precissar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "precisa" and "precisar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeˈsisa] versus [pɾesiˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "precisa" vs "precisar" - which ranks higher?
"precisa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,100 in our Spanish list, against #20,164 for "precisar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "precisa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "precisar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #232,499 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "precisa" and "precisar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "precisado vs precisar". 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 #232,499 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list