abrirvsagrioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abrir is a verb, agrio is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abrir” is a verb and “agrio” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,464
“abrir” frequency rank
#36,386
“agrio” frequency rank
37850
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abrir agrio
Definition Remover la tapa o la cubierta de algo, haciéndolo visible. Que tiene sabor u olor ácido, como el del limón o el vinagre, producido por la concentración de iones hidronios.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abrir and agrio apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
abrir
5 ch
agrio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abrir is [aˈβ̞ɾiɾ] while agrio is [ˈaɣ̞ɾjo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37850, 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]. agrio is at rank #36,386, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɣ̞ɾjo].

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 37850, this pair ranks #173,142 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abrir vs agrio

Shared letters: air. Private to "abrir": b. Private to "agrio": go.

"abrir" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "agrio" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abrirabbrir · abirr · abrirr · abrri · abrrir · arbir · avrir · barir
  • agrioaggrio · agiro · agroi · agrrio · argio · gario

Frequency comparison

abrir#1,464
agrio#36,386

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abrir" and "agrio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abrir" is a verb and "agrio" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abrir" or "agrio"?
"abrir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,464 in our Spanish list, against #36,386 for "agrio". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering abrir vs agrio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “abrir”; for an adjective, it's “agrio”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abrir” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list