amavsapoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,328
“ama” frequency rank
#44,553
“apo” frequency rank
46881
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ama apo
Definition Mujer casada responsable del hogar. Tarea.

Where the eye mixes ama and apo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
ama
3 ch
apo

Why the eye confuses ama with apo

A purely visual mix-up. ama ([ˈama]) and apo (/aˈpo/) 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 46881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ama is recorded at frequency rank #2,328, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈama]. 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 46881, this pair ranks #123,202 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ama vs apo

Shared letters: a. Private to "ama": m. Private to "apo": op.

"ama" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "apo" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ama" and "apo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈama] versus /aˈpo/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ama" or "apo"?
"ama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,328 in our Spanish list, against #44,553 for "apo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "ama" 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 #123,202 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ama" and "apo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apis vs apo". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #123,202 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