abogarvsalegarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#40,094
“abogar” frequency rank
#19,612
“alegar” frequency rank
59706
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abogar alegar
Definition Defender y dar consejo a alguien que es objeto de un juicio o pleito legal. Expresar o citar argumentos a favor o en contra de algo o alguien.

Where the eye mixes abogar and alegar

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

6 ch
abogar
6 ch
alegar

Why the eye confuses abogar with alegar

A purely visual mix-up. abogar ([aβ̞oˈɣ̞aɾ]) and alegar ([aleˈɣ̞aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abogar is recorded at frequency rank #40,094, classified as averb, pronounced [aβ̞oˈɣ̞aɾ]. alegar is at rank #19,612, tagged as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞aɾ].

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 59706, this pair ranks #61,638 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abogar vs alegar

Shared letters: agr. Private to "abogar": bo. Private to "alegar": el.

"abogar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "alegar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abogarabbogar · abgoar · aboagr · abogarr · aboggar · abogra · aobgar · avogar
  • alegaraelgar · aleagr · alegarr · aleggar · algear · allegar · laegar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abogar" and "alegar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aβ̞oˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [aleˈɣ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abogar" or "alegar"?
"alegar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,612 in our Spanish list, against #40,094 for "abogar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "abogar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alegar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,638 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abogar" and "alegar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abogar vs azotar". 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 #61,638 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