abrirvsabroWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,464
“abrir” frequency rank
#12,509
“abro” frequency rank
13973
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abrir abro
Definition Remover la tapa o la cubierta de algo, haciéndolo visible. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse.

Where the eye mixes abrir and abro

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
abrir
4 ch
abro

Why the eye confuses abrir with abro

A purely visual mix-up. abrir ([aˈβ̞ɾiɾ]) and abro ([ˈaβ̞ɾo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abrir is recorded at frequency rank #1,464, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈβ̞ɾiɾ]. abro is at rank #12,509, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaβ̞ɾo].

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 13973, this pair ranks #285,869 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abrir vs abro

Shared letters: abr. Private to "abrir": i. Private to "abro": o.

"abrir" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "abro" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abrirabbrir · abirr · abrirr · abrri · abrrir · arbir · avrir · barir
  • abroabbro · abor · arbo · avro

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abrir" for "abro" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈβ̞ɾiɾ] versus [ˈaβ̞ɾo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abrir" or "abro"?
"abrir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,464 in our Spanish list, against #12,509 for "abro". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abrir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #285,869 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abrir" and "abro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abro vs alió". 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 #285,869 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