acavsalWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: aca is a noun, al is a contraction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aca” is a noun and “al” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,222
“aca” frequency rank
#21
“al” frequency rank
3243
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aca al
Definition Residuo sólido indigerible del bolo alimenticio, que se excreta a través del ano. Contracción de la preposición a y el artículo el (masculino singular) Forma obligatoriamente contracta; la forma *a el no está aceptada por la Real Academia. Se utiliza para todos los valores de a.

Where the eye mixes aca and al

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
aca
2 ch
al

Look-alike desk: aca vs al

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aca is [ˈaka] while al is [al]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3243, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aca is recorded at frequency rank #3,222, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaka]. al is at rank #21, tagged as acontraction, pronounced [al].

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 3243, this pair ranks #318,728 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aca vs al

Shared letters: a. Private to "aca": c. Private to "al": l.

"aca" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "al" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aca" and "al" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aca" is a noun and "al" a contraction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aca" or "al"?
"al" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21 in our Spanish list, against #3,222 for "aca". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "al" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #318,728 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aca" and "al" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aca vs anta". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #318,728 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