aferravsaveríaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aferra is a verb, avería is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aferra” is a verb and “avería” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,055
“aferra” frequency rank
#23,314
“avería” frequency rank
55369
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aferra avería
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de aferrar o de aferrarse. Establecimiento o lugar donde se crían aves o pájaros para el beneficio humano.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aferra and avería apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
aferra
6 ch
avería

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aferra is [aˈfera] while avería is [aβ̞eˈɾia]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aferra is recorded at frequency rank #32,055, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈfera]. avería is at rank #23,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aβ̞eˈɾia].

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 55369, this pair ranks #79,236 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aferra vs avería

Shared letters: aer. Private to "aferra": f. Private to "avería": .

"aferra" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "avería" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aferraaefrra · afera · aferar · afferra · afrera · faerra

Frequency comparison

aferra#32,055
avería#23,314

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aferra" and "avería" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aferra" is a verb and "avería" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aferra" or "avería"?
"avería" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,314 in our Spanish list, against #32,055 for "aferra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aferra vs avería

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “aferra”; for a noun, it's “avería”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aferra” 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