alterar
[al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]
The verdict
“alterar” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #10,258 in Spanish word frequency and used as a verb.
- #10,258
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cambiar la forma, esencia, estructura o composición de algo.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alterar |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #10,258 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alterar” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for alterar is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ]. Corpus data places it at rank #10,258 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for alterar, with forms such as "aletrar", "allterar", and "altearr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "altura", "alteza", "Alvear", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is alterar, spelled A-L-T-E-R-A-R.
Definition
- 1Cambiar la forma, esencia, estructura o composición de algo.
- 2Causar un cambio que perturba, estropea, daña o descompone.
- 3Causar una emoción o preocupación fuerte, generalmente negativa, que afecta, perturba, agita, trastorna o inquieta el ánimo.
- 4Producir enojo, impaciencia, agitación o irritación.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aletrar,allterar,altearr,alterarr,alterra,alterrar,altrear,altterar,atlerar,laterar
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alterar - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "alterar"?
What does "alterar" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “alterar”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is A-L-T-E-R-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [al̪t̪eˈɾaɾ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “altura” - see the side-by-side comparison. alterar vs altura
- Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.