agarrarsevsapartarseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,906
“agarrarse” frequency rank
#30,753
“apartarse” frequency rank
67659
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature agarrarse apartarse
Definition Asirse fuertemente a o de alguna cosa. Alejar de un lugar o idea, desviar, echar, a un lado.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set agarrarse and apartarse apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
agarrarse
9 ch
apartarse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. agarrarse ([aɣ̞aˈraɾse]) and apartarse ([apaɾˈt̪aɾse]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67659, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

agarrarse is recorded at frequency rank #36,906, classified as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞aˈraɾse]. apartarse is at rank #30,753, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaɾˈt̪aɾse].

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 67659, this pair ranks #36,566 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of agarrarse vs apartarse

Shared letters: aers. Private to "agarrarse": g. Private to "apartarse": pt.

"agarrarse" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV  ·  "apartarse" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • agarrarseaagrrarse · agararrse · agararse · agarrarce · agarrares · agarrarrse · agarrarsse · agarrasre
  • apartarseaaprtarse · aparatrse · aparrtarse · apartarce · apartares · apartarrse · apartarsse · apartasre

Frequency comparison

agarrarse#36,906
apartarse#30,753

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "agarrarse" and "apartarse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aɣ̞aˈraɾse] versus [apaɾˈt̪aɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "agarrarse" or "apartarse"?
"apartarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,753 in our Spanish list, against #36,906 for "agarrarse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering agarrarse vs apartarse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “agarrarse” 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