addvsapsConfusable pair

Quick tell: add is a verb, aps is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“add” is a verb and “aps” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,393
“add” frequency rank
#39,057
“aps” frequency rank
72450
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature add aps
Definition Añadir, adjuntar. Ese., esa, eso

Where the eye mixes add and aps

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. add and aps follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
add
3 ch
aps

Visual trap between add and aps

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: add is /æd/ while aps is /aps/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

add is recorded at frequency rank #33,393, classified as averb, pronounced /æd/. aps is at rank #39,057, tagged as apron, pronounced /aps/.

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 72450, this pair ranks #25,320 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of add vs aps

Shared letters: a. Private to "add": d. Private to "aps": ps.

"add" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "aps" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "add" for "aps" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "add" is a verb and "aps" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "add" or "aps"?
"add" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,393 in our Spanish list, against #39,057 for "aps". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "add" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aps" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #25,320 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "add" and "aps" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apis vs aps". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #25,320 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