Which to use
“afirma” is a verb and “alarma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,538
- “afirma” frequency rank
- #4,850
- “alarma” frequency rank
- 7388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | afirma | alarma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de afirmar o de afirmarse. | Aviso o señal que se da en un ejército o plaza para que se prepare inmediatamente a la defensa o al combate. |
Where the eye mixes afirma and alarma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: afirma vs alarma
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: afirma is [aˈfiɾma] while alarma is [aˈlaɾma]. 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 7388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
afirma is recorded at frequency rank #2,538, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈfiɾma]. alarma is at rank #4,850, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈlaɾma].
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 7388, this pair ranks #308,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of afirma vs alarma
Shared letters: amr. Private to "afirma": fi. Private to "alarma": l.
"afirma" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "alarma" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "afirma" and "alarma" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "afirma" or "alarma" show up more?
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 "afirma" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alarma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #308,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "afirma" and "alarma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alarma vs amarra". 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 #308,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.