aclararvsaplacarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,847
“aclarar” frequency rank
#35,347
“aplacar” frequency rank
40194
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aclarar aplacar
Definition Quitar lo que ofusca la claridad o trasparencia de alguna cosa. Calmar o apaciguar el ánimo violento o excitado de una persona o grupo.

Where the eye mixes aclarar and aplacar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aclarar and aplacar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
aclarar
7 ch
aplacar

Look-alike desk: aclarar vs aplacar

A purely visual mix-up. aclarar ([aklaˈɾaɾ]) and aplacar ([aplaˈkaɾ]) 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 40194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aclarar is recorded at frequency rank #4,847, classified as averb, pronounced [aklaˈɾaɾ]. aplacar is at rank #35,347, tagged as averb, pronounced [aplaˈkaɾ].

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 40194, this pair ranks #160,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aclarar vs aplacar

Shared letters: aclr. Private to "aclarar": -. Private to "aplacar": p.

"aclarar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "aplacar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aclarar ← acalrar · acclarar · aclaarr · aclararr · aclarra · aclarrar · acllarar · aclraar
  • aplacar ← alpacar · apalcar · aplaacr · aplacarr · aplaccar · aplacra · aplcaar · apllacar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aclarar" for "aplacar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aklaˈɾaɾ] versus [aplaˈkaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aclarar" vs "aplacar" - which ranks higher?
"aclarar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,847 in our Spanish list, against #35,347 for "aplacar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aclarar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aplacar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #160,404 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aclarar" and "aplacar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aplacar vs atracar". 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 #160,404 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