recitavsrecitarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,582
“recita” frequency rank
#30,220
“recitar” frequency rank
71802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recita recitar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de recitar. Decir en voz alta y ante un público un discurso, mensaje, cuento o texto.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
recita
7 ch
recitar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recita ([reˈsit̪a]) and recitar ([resiˈt̪aɾ]) 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) - “recita” sits inside “recitar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recita is recorded at frequency rank #41,582, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈsit̪a]. recitar is at rank #30,220, tagged as averb, pronounced [resiˈt̪aɾ].

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 71802, this pair ranks #26,722 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of recita vs recitar

Shared letters: aceirt. Private to "recita": -. Private to "recitar": -.

"recita" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "recitar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recitaercita · rceita · reccita · reciat · recitta · rectia · reicta · resita
  • recitarercitar · rceitar · reccitar · reciatr · recitarr · recitra · recittar · rectiar

Frequency comparison

recita#41,582
recitar#30,220

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recita" and "recitar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reˈsit̪a] versus [resiˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recita" or "recitar"?
"recitar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,220 in our Spanish list, against #41,582 for "recita". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recita vs recitar

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 “recita” 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