secanvssecarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,455
“secan” frequency rank
#19,249
“secar” frequency rank
58704
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature secan secar
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de secar. Eliminar parcial o totalmente la humedad de una materia.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set secan and secar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
secan
5 ch
secar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. secan ([ˈsekãn]) and secar ([seˈkaɾ]) 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 a single letter - n in “secan” becomes r in “secar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

secan is recorded at frequency rank #39,455, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsekãn]. secar is at rank #19,249, tagged as averb, pronounced [seˈkaɾ].

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 58704, this pair ranks #65,471 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of secan vs secar

Shared letters: aces. Private to "secan": n. Private to "secar": r.

"secan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "secar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • secancecan · escan · scean · seacn · secann · seccan · secna · ssecan
  • secarcecar · escar · scear · seacr · secarr · seccar · secra · ssecar

Frequency comparison

secan#39,455
secar#19,249

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "secan" and "secar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsekãn] versus [seˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "secan" or "secar"?
"secar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,249 in our Spanish list, against #39,455 for "secan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering secan vs secar

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 “secan” 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