alabóvsapagóWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,402
“alabó” frequency rank
#22,937
“apagó” frequency rank
56339
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alabó apagó
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de alabar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de apagar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alabó and apagó apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
alabó
5 ch
apagó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alabó ([alaˈβ̞o]) and apagó ([apaˈɣ̞o]) 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 56339, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alabó is recorded at frequency rank #33,402, classified as averb, pronounced [alaˈβ̞o]. apagó is at rank #22,937, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞o].

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 56339, this pair ranks #75,021 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alabó vs apagó

Shared letters: . Private to "alabó": bl. Private to "apagó": gp.

"alabó" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "apagó" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Frequency comparison

alabó#33,402
apagó#22,937

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alabó" and "apagó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([alaˈβ̞o] versus [apaˈɣ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alabó" or "apagó"?
"apagó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,937 in our Spanish list, against #33,402 for "alabó". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alabó vs apagó

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 “alabó” 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