acostarvsacostóWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,508
“acostar” frequency rank
#37,404
“acostó” frequency rank
62912
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature acostar acostó
Definition Echar o tender a alguno para que duerma o descanse, y con especialidad en la cama. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de acostar o de acostarse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
acostar
6 ch
acostó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. acostar ([akosˈt̪aɾ]) and acostó ([akosˈt̪o]) 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 62912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

acostar is recorded at frequency rank #25,508, classified as averb, pronounced [akosˈt̪aɾ]. acostó is at rank #37,404, tagged as averb, pronounced [akosˈt̪o].

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 62912, this pair ranks #50,448 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of acostar vs acostó

Shared letters: acost. Private to "acostar": r. Private to "acostó": ó.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • acostaraccostar · acosatr · acosstar · acostarr · acostra · acosttar · acotsar · acsotar

Frequency comparison

acostar#25,508
acostó#37,404

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "acostar" and "acostó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([akosˈt̪aɾ] versus [akosˈt̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "acostar" or "acostó"?
"acostar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,508 in our Spanish list, against #37,404 for "acostó". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering acostar vs acostó

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 “acostar” 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