acortarvsacosarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,683
“acortar” frequency rank
#27,078
“acosar” frequency rank
53761
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acortar acosar
Definition Hacer más corto. Disminuir en longitud, extensión, duración, tiempo o cantidad. Perseguir con insistencia y empeño.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
acortar
6 ch
acosar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. acortar ([akoɾˈt̪aɾ]) and acosar ([akoˈsaɾ]) 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 53761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acortar is recorded at frequency rank #26,683, classified as averb, pronounced [akoɾˈt̪aɾ]. acosar is at rank #27,078, tagged as averb, pronounced [akoˈsaɾ].

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 53761, this pair ranks #86,326 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of acortar vs acosar

Shared letters: acor. Private to "acortar": t. Private to "acosar": s.

"acortar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "acosar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • acortaraccortar · acoratr · acorrtar · acortarr · acortra · acorttar · acotrar · acrotar
  • acosaraccosar · acoasr · acosarr · acosra · acossar · acsoar · aocsar · caosar

Frequency comparison

acortar#26,683
acosar#27,078

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acortar" and "acosar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([akoɾˈt̪aɾ] versus [akoˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acortar" or "acosar"?
"acortar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,683 in our Spanish list, against #27,078 for "acosar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acortar vs acosar

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 “acortar” 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