tocadovstocarTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#5,159
“tocado” frequency rank
#2,138
“tocar” frequency rank
7297
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tocado tocar
Definition Atuendo, cubierta o prenda para la cabeza. Percibir las cualidades de un objeto mediante el sentido del tacto.

Where the eye mixes tocado and tocar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
tocado
5 ch
tocar

Look-alike desk: tocado vs tocar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tocado is [t̪oˈkað̞o] while tocar is [t̪oˈkaɾ]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7297, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tocado is recorded at frequency rank #5,159, classified as anoun, pronounced [t̪oˈkað̞o]. tocar is at rank #2,138, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈkaɾ].

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 7297, this pair ranks #308,391 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tocado vs tocar

Shared letters: acot. Private to "tocado": d. Private to "tocar": r.

"tocado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "tocar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tocadootcado · tcoado · toacdo · tocaddo · tocaod · toccado · tocdao · ttocado
  • tocarotcar · tcoar · toacr · tocarr · toccar · tocra · ttocar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tocado" and "tocar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tocado" is a noun and "tocar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tocado" or "tocar" show up more?
"tocar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,138 in our Spanish list, against #5,159 for "tocado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "tocado" and "tocar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tocado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tocar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,391 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tocado" and "tocar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tacaño vs tocado". 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 #308,391 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