Which to use
“ajenos” is an adjective and “apenas” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,608
- “ajenos” frequency rank
- #930
- “apenas” frequency rank
- 11538
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ajenos | apenas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del masculino plural de ajeno. | En muy poca proporción o intensidad; difícilmente; casi no. |
Where the eye mixes ajenos and apenas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ajenos and apenas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ajenos is [aˈxenos] while apenas is [aˈpenas]. 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 (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11538, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ajenos is recorded at frequency rank #10,608, classified as anadj, pronounced [aˈxenos]. apenas is at rank #930, tagged as anadv, pronounced [aˈpenas].
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 11538, this pair ranks #294,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ajenos vs apenas
Shared letters: aens. Private to "ajenos": jo. Private to "apenas": p.
"ajenos" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "apenas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ajenos" and "apenas" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ajenos" or "apenas" show up more?
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 "ajenos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apenas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ajenos" and "apenas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ajenos vs arenosa". 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 #294,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.