agrandarvsaguantarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#29,464
“agrandar” frequency rank
#5,578
“aguantar” frequency rank
35042
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature agrandar aguantar
Definition Aumentar el tamaño, la importancia o la dignidad de algo; hacerlo más grande o mayor. Mantenerse en una posición o actitud a pesar de contratiempos o embates.

Where the eye mixes agrandar and aguantar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. agrandar (VCCVCCVC) and aguantar (VCVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
agrandar
8 ch
aguantar

Visual trap between agrandar and aguantar

A purely visual mix-up. agrandar ([aɣ̞ɾãn̪ˈd̪aɾ]) and aguantar ([aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) 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 35042, 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]. aguantar is at rank #5,578, tagged as averb, pronounced [aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪aɾ].

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 35042, this pair ranks #188,172 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of agrandar vs aguantar

Shared letters: agnr. Private to "agrandar": d. Private to "aguantar": tu.

"agrandar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "aguantar" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • agrandaragarndar · aggrandar · agradnar · agranadr · agrandarr · agranddar · agrandra · agranndar
  • aguantaragauntar · agguantar · aguanatr · aguanntar · aguantarr · aguantra · aguanttar · aguatnar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "agrandar" and "aguantar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aɣ̞ɾãn̪ˈd̪aɾ] versus [aɣ̞wãn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "agrandar" or "aguantar"?
"aguantar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,578 in our Spanish list, against #29,464 for "agrandar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "agrandar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aguantar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #188,172 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "agrandar" and "aguantar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "agrandar vs arrendar". 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 #188,172 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