Which to use
“ampara” is a verb and “áspera” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,330
- “ampara” frequency rank
- #37,391
- “áspera” frequency rank
- 67721
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ampara | áspera |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de amparar. | Forma del femenino singular de áspero. |
Where the eye mixes ampara and áspera
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ampara and áspera
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ampara is [ãmˈpaɾa] while áspera is [ˈaspeɾa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67721, 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]. áspera is at rank #37,391, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaspeɾa].
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 67721, this pair ranks #36,393 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ampara vs áspera
Shared letters: apr. Private to "ampara": m. Private to "áspera": esá.
"ampara" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "áspera" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ampara ← amapra · ammpara · ampaar · amparra · amppara · ampraa · apmara · mapara
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ampara" and "áspera" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ampara" or "áspera"?
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 "ampara" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "áspera" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,393 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ampara" and "áspera" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "áspera vs aspire". 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 #36,393 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.