acercarvsacordarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,999
“acercar” frequency rank
#6,744
“acordar” frequency rank
21743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acercar acordar
Definition Poner más cerca o menos lejos. Adoptar en común una resolución varias personas, deliberando previamente acerca del asunto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set acercar and acordar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
acercar
7 ch
acordar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. acercar ([aseɾˈkaɾ]) and acordar ([akoɾˈð̞aɾ]) 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 21743, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acercar is recorded at frequency rank #14,999, classified as averb, pronounced [aseɾˈkaɾ]. acordar is at rank #6,744, tagged as averb, pronounced [akoɾˈð̞aɾ].

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 21743, this pair ranks #253,538 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of acercar vs acordar

Shared letters: acr. Private to "acercar": e. Private to "acordar": do.

"acercar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "acordar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • acercaraccercar · acecrar · aceracr · acercarr · acerccar · acercra · acerrcar · acrecar
  • acordaraccordar · acodrar · acoradr · acordarr · acorddar · acordra · acorrdar · acrodar

Frequency comparison

acercar#14,999
acordar#6,744

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acercar" and "acordar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aseɾˈkaɾ] versus [akoɾˈð̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acercar" or "acordar"?
"acordar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,744 in our Spanish list, against #14,999 for "acercar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acercar vs acordar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “acercar” 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