Which to use
“ahogarse” and “apagarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,556
- “ahogarse” frequency rank
- #47,552
- “apagarse” frequency rank
- 87108
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ahogarse | apagarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | No poder respirar, por ejemplo a causa de inmersión en el agua o por presión en la garganta, hasta a veces morir. | Apagar (uso pronominal de ...) |
Where the eye mixes ahogarse and apagarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ahogarse and apagarse follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ahogarse with apagarse
A purely visual mix-up. ahogarse ([aoˈɣ̞aɾse]) and apagarse ([apaˈɣ̞aɾse]) 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 87108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ahogarse is recorded at frequency rank #39,556, classified as averb, pronounced [aoˈɣ̞aɾse]. apagarse is at rank #47,552, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞aɾse].
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 87108, this pair ranks #4,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ahogarse vs apagarse
Shared letters: aegrs. Private to "ahogarse": ho. Private to "apagarse": p.
"ahogarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV · "apagarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ahogarse" for "apagarse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ahogarse" vs "apagarse" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ahogarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apagarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ahogarse" and "apagarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ahogarse vs asomarse". 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 #4,753 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.