refrescarvsrefrescoTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#33,310
“refrescar” frequency rank
#14,938
“refresco” frequency rank
48248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refrescar refresco
Definition Actualizar una página web o reconfigurar un equipo para que funcione correctamente. Bebida fría o a temperatura ambiente.

Where the eye mixes refrescar and refresco

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. refrescar runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against refresco's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
refrescar
8 ch
refresco

Look-alike desk: refrescar vs refresco

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: refrescar is [refɾesˈkaɾ] while refresco is [reˈfɾesko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 48248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refrescar is recorded at frequency rank #33,310, classified as averb, pronounced [refɾesˈkaɾ]. refresco is at rank #14,938, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈfɾesko].

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 48248, this pair ranks #115,511 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of refrescar vs refresco

Shared letters: cefrs. Private to "refrescar": a. Private to "refresco": o.

"refrescar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "refresco" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refrescar ← erfrescar · referscar · reffrescar · refrecsar · refresacr · refrescarr · refresccar · refrescra
  • refresco ← erfresco · refersco · reffresco · refrecso · refrescco · refresoc · refressco · refrresco

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "refrescar" for "refresco" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "refrescar" is a verb and "refresco" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "refrescar" or "refresco"?
"refresco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,938 in our Spanish list, against #33,310 for "refrescar". 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 "refrescar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "refresco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #115,511 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "refrescar" and "refresco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refresca vs refrescar". 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 #115,511 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