Which to use
“abrir” and “aburrir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,464
- “abrir” frequency rank
- #32,044
- “aburrir” frequency rank
- 33508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abrir | aburrir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Remover la tapa o la cubierta de algo, haciéndolo visible. | Causar tedio, aburrimiento o fastidio. Hacer que una persona pierda el interés, la atracción o la atención hacia algo o alguien. |
Where the eye mixes abrir and aburrir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abrir runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against aburrir's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abrir with aburrir
A purely visual mix-up. abrir ([aˈβ̞ɾiɾ]) and aburrir ([aβ̞uˈriɾ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33508, 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]. aburrir is at rank #32,044, tagged as averb, pronounced [aβ̞uˈriɾ].
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 33508, this pair ranks #196,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abrir vs aburrir
Shared letters: abir. Private to "abrir": -. Private to "aburrir": u.
"abrir" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "aburrir" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abrir" for "aburrir" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "abrir" or "aburrir" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "aburrir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abrir" and "aburrir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aburrí vs aburrir". 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 #196,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.