Which to use
“alejar” is a verb and “aleta” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,531
- “alejar” frequency rank
- #17,329
- “aleta” frequency rank
- 32860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alejar | aleta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Poner o llevar lejos o a mayor distancia. | Cada uno de los miembros aplanados que usan los vertebrados acuáticos para la locomoción. |
Where the eye mixes alejar and aleta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between alejar and aleta
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alejar is [aleˈxaɾ] while aleta is [aˈlet̪a]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32860, 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]. aleta is at rank #17,329, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈlet̪a].
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 32860, this pair ranks #199,818 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alejar vs aleta
Shared letters: ael. Private to "alejar": jr. Private to "aleta": t.
"alejar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "aleta" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alejar" for "aleta" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "alejar" or "aleta" 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 "alejar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aleta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #199,818 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alejar" and "aleta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aleta vs anta". 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 #199,818 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.