Which to use
“acostar” and “agotar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,508
- “acostar” frequency rank
- #24,713
- “agotar” frequency rank
- 50221
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acostar | agotar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Echar o tender a alguno para que duerma o descanse, y con especialidad en la cama. | Acabar recursos o posibilidades hasta su desaparición. |
Where the eye mixes acostar and agotar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. acostar runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against agotar's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses acostar with agotar
A purely visual mix-up. acostar ([akosˈt̪aɾ]) and agotar ([aɣ̞oˈt̪aɾ]) 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 50221, 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]. agotar is at rank #24,713, tagged as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞oˈt̪aɾ].
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 50221, this pair ranks #104,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acostar vs agotar
Shared letters: aort. Private to "acostar": cs. Private to "agotar": g.
"acostar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "agotar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "acostar" and "agotar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "acostar" or "agotar"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "acostar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "agotar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #104,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acostar" and "agotar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acorta vs acostar". 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 #104,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.