acortavsacostarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,903
“acorta” frequency rank
#25,508
“acostar” frequency rank
72411
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acorta acostar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de acortar o de acortarse. Echar o tender a alguno para que duerma o descanse, y con especialidad en la cama.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
acorta
7 ch
acostar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. acorta ([aˈkoɾt̪a]) and acostar ([akosˈt̪aɾ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72411, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acorta is recorded at frequency rank #46,903, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈkoɾt̪a]. acostar is at rank #25,508, tagged as averb, pronounced [akosˈt̪aɾ].

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 72411, this pair ranks #25,400 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of acorta vs acostar

Shared letters: acort. Private to "acorta": -. Private to "acostar": s.

"acorta" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "acostar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • acortaaccorta · acorat · acorrta · acortta · acrota · aocrta · caorta
  • acostaraccostar · acosatr · acosstar · acostarr · acostra · acosttar · acotsar · acsotar

Frequency comparison

acorta#46,903
acostar#25,508

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acorta" and "acostar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈkoɾt̪a] versus [akosˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acorta" or "acostar"?
"acostar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,508 in our Spanish list, against #46,903 for "acorta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acorta vs acostar

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 “acorta” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list