Which to use
“amigo” is an adjective and “apego” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #359
- “amigo” frequency rank
- #17,037
- “apego” frequency rank
- 17396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | amigo | apego |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que da o recibe un afecto desinteresado (amistad), especialmente si no se basa en lazos de parentesco. | Actitud de afecto, afición o inclinación hacia algo o alguien. |
Where the eye mixes amigo and apego
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between amigo and apego
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: amigo is [aˈmiɣ̞o] while apego is [aˈpeɣ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
amigo is recorded at frequency rank #359, classified as anadj, pronounced [aˈmiɣ̞o]. apego is at rank #17,037, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈpeɣ̞o].
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 17396, this pair ranks #272,280 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of amigo vs apego
Shared letters: ago. Private to "amigo": im. Private to "apego": ep.
"amigo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "apego" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "amigo" for "apego" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "amigo" or "apego" 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 "amigo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apego" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #272,280 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "amigo" and "apego" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abeto vs apego". 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 #272,280 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.