agrandarvsagravarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,464
“agrandar” frequency rank
#35,329
“agravar” frequency rank
64793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature agrandar agravar
Definition Aumentar el tamaño, la importancia o la dignidad de algo; hacerlo más grande o mayor. Hacer más grave, serio o molesto. Desmejorar, empeorar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set agrandar and agravar apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
agrandar
7 ch
agravar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. agrandar ([aɣ̞ɾãn̪ˈd̪aɾ]) and agravar ([aɣ̞ɾaˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

agrandar is recorded at frequency rank #29,464, classified as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞ɾãn̪ˈd̪aɾ]. agravar is at rank #35,329, tagged as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞ɾaˈβ̞aɾ].

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 64793, this pair ranks #44,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of agrandar vs agravar

Shared letters: agr. Private to "agrandar": dn. Private to "agravar": v.

"agrandar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "agravar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • agrandaragarndar · aggrandar · agradnar · agranadr · agrandarr · agranddar · agrandra · agranndar
  • agravaragarvar · aggravar · agraavr · agrabar · agravarr · agravra · agravvar · agrravar

Frequency comparison

agrandar#29,464
agravar#35,329

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "agrandar" and "agravar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aɣ̞ɾãn̪ˈd̪aɾ] versus [aɣ̞ɾaˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "agrandar" or "agravar"?
"agrandar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,464 in our Spanish list, against #35,329 for "agravar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering agrandar vs agravar

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 “agrandar” 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