actualizavsactualizarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,747
“actualiza” frequency rank
#9,566
“actualizar” frequency rank
24313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature actualiza actualizar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de actualizar. Adaptar algo a los tiempos actuales, al presente.

Where the eye mixes actualiza and actualizar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. actualiza runs 9 letters (VCCVVCVCV) against actualizar's 10 (VCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
actualiza
10 ch
actualizar

Look-alike desk: actualiza vs actualizar

A purely visual mix-up. actualiza ([akt̪waˈlisa]) and actualizar ([akt̪waliˈsaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “actualiza” sits inside “actualizar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

actualiza is recorded at frequency rank #14,747, classified as averb, pronounced [akt̪waˈlisa]. actualizar is at rank #9,566, tagged as averb, pronounced [akt̪waliˈsaɾ].

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 24313, this pair ranks #241,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of actualiza vs actualizar

Shared letters: aciltuz. Private to "actualiza": -. Private to "actualizar": r.

"actualiza" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCV  ·  "actualizar" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • actualiza ← acctualiza · actauliza · acttualiza · actuailza · actualiaz · actualizza · actualliza · actualzia
  • actualizar ← acctualizar · actaulizar · acttualizar · actuailzar · actualiazr · actualizarr · actualizra · actualizzar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "actualiza" and "actualizar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([akt̪waˈlisa] versus [akt̪waliˈsaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "actualiza" or "actualizar" show up more?
"actualizar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,566 in our Spanish list, against #14,747 for "actualiza". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "actualiza" and "actualizar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "actualiza" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "actualizar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #241,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "actualiza" and "actualizar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "actualiza vs actualizo". 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 #241,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list