Similar words
presidio
presidio is more formal or historical for "prison," like a penal colony; cárcel is the everyday word.
Similar in other languages
Portuguese
presídio
presídio is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "prison."
Portuguese
prisão
prisão is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "prison."
Practice
1 What does cárcel mean?
prison
2 Fill the gap: Está en la ___.
Full sentence: Está en la cárcel. (He is in prison.)
3 Which fingerprint chart matches cárcel?
cárcel: neutral register, common frequency, general domain, neutral connotation.