alejarvsalertarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,531
“alejar” frequency rank
#28,229
“alertar” frequency rank
43760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alejar alertar
Definition Poner o llevar lejos o a mayor distancia. Dar la alerta. Avisar.

Where the eye mixes alejar and alertar

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

6 ch
alejar
7 ch
alertar

Visual trap between alejar and alertar

A purely visual mix-up. alejar ([aleˈxaɾ]) and alertar ([aleɾˈt̪aɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alejar is recorded at frequency rank #15,531, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈxaɾ]. alertar is at rank #28,229, tagged as averb, pronounced [aleɾˈt̪aɾ].

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 43760, this pair ranks #140,852 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alejar vs alertar

Shared letters: aelr. Private to "alejar": j. Private to "alertar": t.

"alejar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "alertar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alejaraeljar · aleajr · alejarr · alejjar · alejra · aljear · allejar · laejar
  • alertaraelrtar · aleratr · alerrtar · alertarr · alertra · alerttar · allertar · alretar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alejar" and "alertar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈxaɾ] versus [aleɾˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "alejar" or "alertar" show up more?
"alejar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,531 in our Spanish list, against #28,229 for "alertar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "alejar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alertar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #140,852 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alejar" and "alertar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alertan vs alertar". 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 #140,852 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