Which to use
“activar” and “active” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,755
- “activar” frequency rank
- #17,585
- “active” frequency rank
- 27340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | activar | active |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer activo. Poner en funcionamiento. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de activar. |
Where the eye mixes activar and active
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: activar vs active
A purely visual mix-up. activar ([akt̪iˈβ̞aɾ]) and active ([akˈt̪iβ̞e]) 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 27340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
activar is recorded at frequency rank #9,755, classified as averb, pronounced [akt̪iˈβ̞aɾ]. active is at rank #17,585, tagged as averb, pronounced [akˈt̪iβ̞e].
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 27340, this pair ranks #227,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of activar vs active
Shared letters: acitv. Private to "activar": r. Private to "active": e.
"activar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "active" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "activar" and "active" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "activar" or "active" show up more?
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 "activar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "active" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #227,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "activar" and "active" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "active vs activen". 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 #227,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.