Which to use
“al” is a contraction and “apo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21
- “al” frequency rank
- #44,553
- “apo” frequency rank
- 44574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | al | apo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contracción de la preposición a y el artículo el (masculino singular) Forma obligatoriamente contracta; la forma *a el no está aceptada por la Real Academia. Se utiliza para todos los valores de a. | Tarea. |
Where the eye mixes al and apo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between al and apo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: al is [al] while apo is /aˈpo/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
al is recorded at frequency rank #21, classified as acontraction, pronounced [al]. apo is at rank #44,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced /aˈpo/.
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 44574, this pair ranks #136,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of al vs apo
Shared letters: a. Private to "al": l. Private to "apo": op.
"al" · 2 letters · shape VC · "apo" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "al" for "apo" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "al" or "apo" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "al" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #136,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "al" and "apo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apis vs apo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #136,283 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.