alegrarvsalegresWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#32,486
“alegrar” frequency rank
#13,606
“alegres” frequency rank
46092
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alegrar alegres
Definition Causar alegría. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de alegrar o de alegrarse.

Where the eye mixes alegrar and alegres

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
alegrar
7 ch
alegres

Look-alike desk: alegrar vs alegres

A purely visual mix-up. alegrar ([aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾ]) and alegres ([aˈleɣ̞ɾes]) 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 46092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alegrar is recorded at frequency rank #32,486, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾ]. alegres is at rank #13,606, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈleɣ̞ɾes].

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 46092, this pair ranks #127,721 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alegrar vs alegres

Shared letters: aeglr. Private to "alegrar": -. Private to "alegres": s.

"alegrar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "alegres" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alegraraelgrar · aleggrar · alegrarr · alegrrar · alergar · algerar · allegrar · laegrar
  • alegresaelgres · alegers · aleggres · alegress · alegrres · alegrse · alerges · algeres

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alegrar" for "alegres" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾ] versus [aˈleɣ̞ɾes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "alegrar" or "alegres" show up more?
"alegres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,606 in our Spanish list, against #32,486 for "alegrar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "alegrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alegres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #127,721 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alegrar" and "alegres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alegrar vs alegraría". 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 #127,721 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