tocarsevstomarseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,328
“tocarse” frequency rank
#6,836
“tomarse” frequency rank
43164
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tocarse tomarse
Definition Tocar (uso pronominal de ...) Tomar (uso pronominal de ...)

Where the eye mixes tocarse and tomarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
tocarse
7 ch
tomarse

Why the eye confuses tocarse with tomarse

A purely visual mix-up. tocarse ([t̪oˈkaɾse]) and tomarse ([t̪oˈmaɾse]) 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 - c in “tocarse” becomes m in “tomarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tocarse is recorded at frequency rank #36,328, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈkaɾse]. tomarse is at rank #6,836, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmaɾse].

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 43164, this pair ranks #144,176 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tocarse vs tomarse

Shared letters: aeorst. Private to "tocarse": c. Private to "tomarse": m.

"tocarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "tomarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tocarseotcarse · tcoarse · toacrse · tocarce · tocares · tocarrse · tocarsse · tocasre
  • tomarseotmarse · tmoarse · toamrse · tomarce · tomares · tomarrse · tomarsse · tomasre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tocarse" and "tomarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈkaɾse] versus [t̪oˈmaɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tocarse" or "tomarse"?
"tomarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,836 in our Spanish list, against #36,328 for "tocarse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tocarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #144,176 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tocarse" and "tomarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tocarse vs tomase". 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 #144,176 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