publiquevspulqueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: publique is a verb, pulque is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“publique” is a verb and “pulque” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,772
“publique” frequency rank
#46,763
“pulque” frequency rank
60535
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature publique pulque
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de publicar. Bebida alcohólica que se fabrica a partir de la fermentación del jugo o aguamiel del agave o maguey, especialmente el maguey pulquero (Agave salmiana). Actualmente su producción se realiza principalmente en el estado de Hidalgo, México.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set publique and pulque apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
publique
6 ch
pulque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: publique is [puˈβ̞like] while pulque is [ˈpulke]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60535, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

publique is recorded at frequency rank #13,772, classified as averb, pronounced [puˈβ̞like]. pulque is at rank #46,763, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpulke].

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 60535, this pair ranks #58,599 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of publique vs pulque

Shared letters: elpqu. Private to "publique": bi. Private to "pulque": -.

"publique" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "pulque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • publiquepbulique · ppublique · pubblique · pubilque · publiqeu · publiqque · publiuqe · publlique
  • pulquepluque · ppulque · pullque · pulqeu · pulqque · puluqe · puqlue · uplque

Frequency comparison

publique#13,772
pulque#46,763

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "publique" and "pulque" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "publique" is a verb and "pulque" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "publique" or "pulque"?
"publique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,772 in our Spanish list, against #46,763 for "pulque". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering publique vs pulque

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “publique”; for a noun, it's “pulque”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “publique” 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