Which to use
“pescar” is a verb and “pisca” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,884
- “pescar” frequency rank
- #21,544
- “pisca” frequency rank
- 37428
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pescar | pisca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | apanhar na água (o peixe ou outro animal aquático) | coisa muitíssimo pequena; pequeno grão; pó; fagulha |
Where the eye mixes pescar and pisca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pescar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against pisca's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pescar and pisca
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pescar is /pesˈka(ʁ)/ [pesˈka(h)] while pisca is /ˈpiʃ.kɐ/. 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 37428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pescar is recorded at frequency rank #15,884, classified as averb, pronounced /pesˈka(ʁ)/ [pesˈka(h)]. pisca is at rank #21,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpiʃ.kɐ/.
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 37428, this pair ranks #29,192 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pescar vs pisca
Shared letters: acps. Private to "pescar": er. Private to "pisca": i.
"pescar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pisca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pescar" and "pisca" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pescar" or "pisca"?
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 "pescar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pisca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,192 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pescar" and "pisca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pisca vs piza". 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 #29,192 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.