amparavsapagaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,330
“ampara” frequency rank
#10,448
“apaga” frequency rank
40778
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ampara apaga
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de amparar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apagar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ampara and apaga apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ampara
5 ch
apaga

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ampara ([ãmˈpaɾa]) and apaga ([aˈpaɣ̞a]) 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 40778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ampara is recorded at frequency rank #30,330, classified as averb, pronounced [ãmˈpaɾa]. apaga is at rank #10,448, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpaɣ̞a].

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 40778, this pair ranks #157,272 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ampara vs apaga

Shared letters: ap. Private to "ampara": mr. Private to "apaga": g.

"ampara" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "apaga" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amparaamapra · ammpara · ampaar · amparra · amppara · ampraa · apmara · mapara
  • apagaaapga · apaag · apagga · apgaa · appaga · paaga

Frequency comparison

ampara#30,330
apaga#10,448

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ampara" and "apaga" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ãmˈpaɾa] versus [aˈpaɣ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ampara" or "apaga"?
"apaga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,448 in our Spanish list, against #30,330 for "ampara". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ampara vs apaga

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ampara” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list