abrasvsaspasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,075
“abras” frequency rank
#41,747
“aspas” frequency rank
68822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abras aspas
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de abrir o de abrirse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de aspar o de asparse.

Where the eye mixes abras and aspas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. abras and aspas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
abras
5 ch
aspas

Why the eye confuses abras with aspas

A purely visual mix-up. abras ([ˈaβ̞ɾas]) and aspas ([ˈaspas]) 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 68822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abras is recorded at frequency rank #27,075, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaβ̞ɾas]. aspas is at rank #41,747, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaspas].

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 68822, this pair ranks #33,535 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abras vs aspas

Shared letters: as. Private to "abras": br. Private to "aspas": p.

"abras" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "aspas" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abras ← abars · abbras · abrass · abrras · abrsa · arbas
  • aspas ← asaps · aspass · asppas · aspsa · asspas · sapas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abras" and "aspas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaβ̞ɾas] versus [ˈaspas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abras" vs "aspas" - which ranks higher?
"abras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,075 in our Spanish list, against #41,747 for "aspas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "abras" and "aspas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aspas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #33,535 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abras" and "aspas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apis vs aspas". 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 #33,535 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